SN 1604

Supernova
name = SN 1604


caption= A false-color composite (HST/SIRTF) image of the supernova remnant nebula from SN 1604. Credit: HST/NASA/ESA.
type = Ia cite web
title = Chandra X-Ray Observatory
work = Kepler's Supernova Remnant: A Star's Death Comes to Life
url = http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/kepler/index.html
accessdate = 2006-01-16 ]
epoch = J2000
SNRtype = Shell
host = Milky Way
constellation = Ophiuchus
ra = RA|17|30|42
dec = DEC|−21|29
gal = G4.5+6.8
discovery = October 1604
iauc =
mag_v = −2.25 to −2.5
distance = 20000 light-years, or 6 kpc
progenitor = Unknown
progenitor_type = Unknown
b-v = Unknown
notes = Last observed supernova in our galaxy. Maintained naked-eye visibility for 18 months.

Supernova 1604, also known as Kepler's Supernova, Kepler's Nova or Kepler's Star, was a supernova which occurred in the Milky Way, in the constellation Ophiuchus. As of 2007, it is the last supernova to have been unquestionably observed in our own galaxy, occurring no farther than 6 kiloparsecs or about 20,000 light-years from Earth. Visible to the naked eye, it was brighter at its peak than any other star in the night sky, and all the planets (other than Venus), with apparent magnitude −2.5.

The supernova was first observed on October 9, 1604. [ [http://fuse.pha.jhu.edu/~wpb/Kepler/kepler.html Bill Blair's Kepler's Supernova Remnant Page] Accessed "September 20, 2006"] The German astronomer Johannes Kepler first saw it on October 17, subsequently named after himself. His book on the subject was entitled "De Stella nova in pede Serpentarii" (On the new star in Ophiuchus's foot).

It was the second supernova to be observed in a generation (after SN 1572 seen by Tycho Brahe in Cassiopeia). No further supernovae have since been observed with certainty in the Milky Way, though many others outside our galaxy have been seen.

The supernova remnant resulting from this supernova is considered to be one of the "prototypical" objects of its kind, and is still an object of much study in astronomy.

ee also

* List of supernova remnants

References

External links

* [http://www.seds.org/~spider/spider/Vars/sn1604.html Nine Planets page on SN1604]