Human evolution and supernova. Computer artwork of a landscape on Earth two million years ago (the Pleistocene) at the time of a supernova. At left, a human ancestor, an adult australopithecine hominid carrying a child, gazes skywards as a supernova explodes in space just a few tens of light-years away. The crescent Moon is seen below the bright glow of the supernova. A supernova, the explosive death of a massive star, may briefly outshine an entire galaxy and be visible in the daytime.