The M51 Supernova was observed last week, from 25 Million light years away. Our own galaxy gets one every one hundred years or so, and we are overdue as the last was in 1601. It's also thought that a gamma ray burst from a supernova 44 Million years ago made two thirds of the earth's species extinct.
Note that all the naturally occurring elements heavier than iron are fused into existence during the violent burst of a supernovae. Including that rare and long coveted element Gold (Au).
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