Supernova
Supernovae come in two broad categories, known as Type I and Type II, which are defined by the spectrum of the matter that's ejected into space, and by the way the stars brighten and fade. As more supernovae are discovered, though, the line dividing the two categories is blurring.
The best-known Type I supernovae are known as Type Ia. A Type Ia probably occurs when a white-dwarf star -- the "corpse" of a medium-mass star like the Sun -- is completely blown to bits.
