In the year 1181, a rare supernova explosion lit up the night sky and was visible for 185 days – and now scientists can see what our ancestors saw more than 800 years ago.
The supernova, which looked like a temporary ‘star’ in the constellation Cassiopeia, shined as bright as Saturn.
It was initially believed the supernova’s remnant could be the nebula around the pulsar, the dense core of a collapse star, 3C 58, but now scientists believe the pulsar is older than supernova 1181.
Researchers considered a circular nebula in the same constellation was the culprit, Pa 30. They believe it was formed in a thermonuclear explosion, a special kind of supernova called a sub-luminous Type lax event. This is where two white dwarf stars merge, but normall,y no remnant is expected after the explosion. However, incomplete explosions can leave a ‘zombie star’, similar to the massive white dwarf star in the system. The hot star – one of the hottest in the Milky Way at about 200,000 degrees Celsius – has fast stellar winds of up to 16,000 km/h.
READ NEXT: Never-before-seen map of the heart of the Milky Way
NASA says the combination of the star and nebula means scientists can study these rare explosions.
NASA explains the image of the explosion: “A bright, multi-colored, spherical nebula sits in the middle of the canvas surrounded by a field of stars that appear as white dots. In the center of the nebula is a small point of aqua-colored light.
“This is the hot white dwarf star that was left behind after the likely merger of two smaller white dwarfs caused an explosion. From this single point of aqua light, several spectacular rays expand outward, resembling a single firework bursting in celebration in the night sky.”
Investigators were able to observe the full extent of the nebula through NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and X-rays via ESA’s XMM-Newton.
The nebula is barely visible in optical light but it’s a different story in infrared, captured by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Space Explorer.
READ NEXT: Scientists estimate how likely asteroid ‘God of Chaos’ will crash into Earth
Comments are closed.