Stopping a star from going supernova

[gtriafylos]

hi guys, my first post...

i was wondering if there is anyway of stopping a star from going supernova...
my proposal is as follows:

if you where to have a star about to go supernova, (as a result of lack of fusion) in the middle of space, and then you had super massive bodies surrounding the star equally in all directions, would that be able to stop the star from collapsing in on itself, and in turn stopping it from going supernova? also assuming that the net gravitational force of these external bodies attracting the star match the gravitational force that is making the star collapse in on itself.

thanks!

 

[Bandersnatch]

Hi gtriafylos, welcome to PF.

A uniform spherical shell of mass will have exactly zero effect on the gravitational field within.

Have a look here for more details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_theorem

 

[russ_watters]

If it were orbiting a single massive object like a black hole, it might get torn apart by tidal forces instead of collapsing. (How did it become a star in the first place though...?)

 

[gtriafylos]

Ahh ok i see, thanks Bandersnatch. it would have been pretty cool if it worked though!