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Credit & Copyright: David Cowland
Explanation:
In 185 AD,
Chinese astronomers
recorded the appearance of a new star in the Nanmen asterism.
That part of the sky is
identified with part of the southern constellation
Centaurus
on modern star charts.
In fact, the new star was reported to be visible to the naked-eye for months
before it faded from view, and is now thought to be the earliest
recorded supernova.
In this 21st century telescopic image,
the wispy outlines of a faint emission nebula
recognized as the remnant of that historical stellar explosion
can be traced against a starry background.
The ragged but roughly circular extent
of the nebula, cataloged as RCW 86,
represents interstellar gas ionized by the supernova's
still expanding shock wave.
Space-based
images indicate an abundance of the element iron in RCW 86 and
the absence of a neutron star or pulsar
within the remnant,
suggesting that the original supernova was Type Ia.
Unlike the core collapse
supernova explosion of a massive star, a
Type Ia supernova
is a thermonuclear
detonation on a white dwarf
star that has accreted material from its companion in a binary star system.
Near the plane of our
Milky Way
galaxy and larger than the full moon on the sky this supernova remnant
is too faint to be seen by eye though.
RCW 86 is some 8,000 light-years distant and around 100 light-years
across.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: supernova remnant
Publications with words: supernova remnant
See also:
- APOD: 2026 June 11 Á The Mermaid Nebula Supernova Remnant
- APOD: 2026 June 2 Á The Vela Supernova Remnant
- Sharpless 249 and the Jellyfish Nebula
- Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
- APOD: 2026 January 19 Á CTB 1: The Medulla Nebula
- APOD: 2026 January 7 Á Simeis 147: The Spaghetti Nebula Supernova Remnant
- APOD: 2025 October 1 Á NGC 6960: The Witchs Broom Nebula