Ghostly scraps of oldest recorded supernova revealed in stunning telescope image [View all]

By Brandon Specktor published 1 day ago
The National Science Foundation zooms in on the tattered scraps of SN 185, which appeared over our planet 1,800 years ago and was the first supernova ever recorded in Earth's skies.



Ghostly red scraps circle around a field of stars in this telescope image of a supernova remnant
The scraps of SN 185, which appeared over Earth 1,800 years ago, swirl around an invisible center of mass in this ghostly new telescope image. (Image credit: NOIRLab/ National Science Foundation)

The shredded remnants of the first supernova ever recorded by humans — which appeared in the sky more than 1,800 years ago and vanished within eight months — rise from the cosmic grave in a stunning new image from the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab.

Tinged blood red and swirling around an invisible center of mass, the ghostly clouds of gas are thought to be the last scraps of a star that exploded so brightly and violently that the blast was visible in Earth's nighttime skies for nearly a year in A.D. 185.

Chinese astronomers who witnessed the blast dubbed it a "guest star," as the explosion appeared suddenly where no star had been visible before and then slowly faded back into the cosmic background, according to NOIRLab(opens in new tab).

Astronomers have since linked those historic accounts to a supernova remnant named SN 185, located about 8,000 light-years from Earth near the constellations Circinus and Centaurus. Initially, researchers estimated the supernova remnant to be about 10,000 years old, based on how far the gassy scraps had traveled from the dead star's likely location. Now, however, astronomers favor another explanation: The departed star exploded much more recently (about 1,800 years ago, putting it in line with the historical accounts), and with much greater force than a typical supernova.

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https://www.livescience.com/ghostly-scraps-of-oldest-recorded-supernova-revealed-in-stunning-telescope-image