The Betelgeuse in the constellation of Orion is a fascinating star.
Eventually, gravity will cause the core to collapse, resulting in a spectacular supernova explosion.
A mesmerizing supernova remnant called G299 located 16,000 light years from Earth in the Milky Way galaxy.
Astronomers have observed supernovae long before they have understood them.
On average, a supernova explosion occurs somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy every 50 years.
The first written evidence of a supernova comes from China in the year 185 CE.
The word yan has been interpreted as bamboo mat, which might have a size of about 6 feet.
But it could also mean ayan-chuang, which is very low stool about 2 feet across.
The remnant of this supernova has a diameter of 85 light years and is located 9,000 light years away.
When viewed from Earth, it appears wider than the full moon.
Due to the given duration of the appearance, it has been suggested that the object was a supernova.
Given the duration of the event, it has been suggested that it was a supernova.
The quest to identify SN 393 proved to be difficult.
There were seven supernova remnants near where SN 393 was observed.
Four were immediately ruled out for not matching the reported magnitude of SN 393.
Another was discounted for being too old.
Another possible candidate was discovered in 1996, which proved to be a better match for SN 393.
SN 1006
False-color X-ray image of SN 1006 supernova remnant.
The brightest supernova ever observed from earth appeared in the year 1006 CE in the southern constellation of Lupus.
There was first a three-month period at which it was at its brightest.
After this period it diminished, and then returned after some time.
The supernova then glowed for another eighteen months.
Modern astronomers have discovered the faint remnant of this explosion at a distance of 7,100 light-years from the Earth.
Another spectacular supernova observation was made in the year 1054 CE in the constellation of Taurus.
Before 2013, the pulsar 3C 58 was considered as the most likely stellar relic from this event.
Such a speed could only arise from a supernova or an event of similar magnitude.
SN 1572
Remnant of Tycho’s Supernova as seen in X-ray light.
The supernova appeared in early November 1572 in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Contrarily, Brahe described the supernova as “brighter than Venus”.
The supernova remained visible to the naked eye into early 1574, gradually fading until it disappeared from view.
Consequently, observers argued that any unusual phenomenon must be occurring within the Earth’s atmosphere.
The modern term nova for cataclysmic variable stars is derived from the title of this book.
The supernova remnant now consist of a shell of gas expanding from its center at about 5,000 km/s.
SN 1604
A false-color composite image of the supernova remnant nebula from SN 1604.
Thus the supernova is also known as Kepler’s Supernova.
It was visible during the day for over three weeks, and almost a year during night.
The supernova remnant of SN 1604 is a dim nebula invisible without a telescope.
Only filaments can be seen in visible light, but it is a strong radio and X-ray source.
It is located 16,000 light years away from earth.
Huggins proposed a cataclysmic explosion as the underlying mechanism, and his efforts drew interest from other astronomers.
But Gully thought it was scattered moonlight in his telescope and did not follow up on this observation.
The term supernova wasnt used until the 1930s when Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky began studying this new phenomenon.
Supernova 1987A as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Supernova 1987A was the first supernova that modern astronomers were able to study in great detail.
The rate of supernova discovery steadily increased throughout the twentieth century.
In the 1990s, several automated supernova search programs were initiated.
