page_title: History of supernova observation
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: History of supernova observation / Early history
caption_attribution_description: X-ray, Optical &amp; Infrared Composite of Kepler's Supernova Remnant "On October 9, 1604, sky watchers -- including astronomer Johannes Kepler, spotted a "new star" in the western sky, rivaling the brilliance of nearby planets. "Kepler's supernova" was the last exploding supernova seen in our Milky Way galaxy. Observers used only their eyes to study it, because the telescope had not yet been invented. Now, astronomers have utilized NASA's three Great Observatories to analyze the supernova remnant in infrared, optical and X-ray light." [1] Color Code (Energy): Blue: X-ray (4-6 keV), en:Chandra X-ray Observatory, The higher-energy X-rays come primarily from the regions directly behind the shock front. Green: X-ray (0.3-1.4 keV), en:Chandra X-ray Observatory; Lower-energy X-rays mark the location of the hot remains of the exploded star. Yellow: Optical, en:Hubble Space Telescope; The optical image reveals 10,000 degrees Celsius gas where the supernova shock wave is slamming into the densest regions of surrounding gas. Red: Infrared, en:Spitzer space telescope; The infrared image highlights microscopic dust particles swept up and heated by the supernova shock wave.
context_page_description: The known history of supernova observation goes back to 185 AD, when supernova SN 185 appeared; which is the oldest appearance of a supernova recorded by humankind. Several additional supernovae within the Milky Way galaxy have been recorded since that time, with SN 1604 being the most recent supernova to be observed in this galaxy. Supernova 1987A was visible to naked eye in southern hemisphere occurring in a nearby galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud.
  Since the development of the telescope, the field of supernova discovery has expanded to other galaxies. These occurrences provide important information on the distances of galaxies. Successful models of supernova behavior have also been developed, and the role of supernovae in the star formation process is now increasingly understood.
context_section_description: The supernova explosion that formed the Vela Supernova Remnant most likely occurred 10,000–20,000 years ago.
  The earliest possible recorded supernova, known as HB9, could have been viewed and recorded by unknown Indian observers in 4500±1000 BC.
  In 185 AD, Chinese astronomers recorded the appearance of a bright star in the sky, and observed that it took about eight months to fade from  the sky. It was observed to sparkle like a star and did not move across the heavens like a comet. These observations are consistent with the appearance of a supernova, and this is believed to be the oldest confirmed record of a supernova event by humankind. SN 185 may have also possibly been recorded in Roman literature, though no records have survived. The gaseous shell RCW 86 is suspected as being the remnant of this event, and recent X-ray studies show a good match for the expected age.
  In 393 AD, the Chinese recorded the appearance of another "guest star", SN 393, in the modern constellation of Scorpius. Additional unconfirmed supernovae events may have been observed in 369 AD, 386 CE,
  437 AD, 827 AD and 902 AD. However these have not yet been associated with a supernova remnant, and so they remain only candidates. Over a span of about 2,000 years, Chinese astronomers recorded a total of twenty such candidate events, including later explosions noted by Islamic, European, and possibly Indian and other observers.
  The supernova SN 1006 appeared in the southern constellation of Lupus during the year 1006 AD. This was the brightest recorded star ever to appear in the night sky, and its presence was noted in China, Egypt, Iraq, Italy, Japan and Switzerland. It may also have been noted in France, Syria, and North America. Egyptian physician, astronomer and astrologer Ali ibn Ridwan gave the brightness of this star as one-quarter the brightness of the Moon. Modern astronomers have discovered the faint remnant of this explosion and determined that it was only 7,100 light-years from the Earth.
  Supernova SN 1054 was another widely observed event, with Arab, Chinese, and Japanese astronomers recording the star's appearance in 1054 AD. It may also have been recorded by the Anasazi as a petroglyph. This explosion appeared in the constellation of Taurus, where it produced the Crab Nebula remnant. At its peak, the luminosity of SN 1054 may have been four times as bright as Venus, and it remained visible in daylight for 23 days and was visible in the night sky for 653 days.
  There are fewer records of supernova SN 1181, which occurred in the constellation Cassiopeia just over a century after SN 1054. It was noted by Chinese and Japanese astronomers, however. The pulsar 3C58 may be the stellar relic from this event.
  The Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe was noted for his careful observations of the night sky from his observatory on the island of Hven. In 1572 he noted the appearance of a new star, also in the constellation Cassiopeia. Later called SN 1572, this
  supernova was associated with a remnant during the 1960s.
  A common belief in Europe during this period was the Aristotelian idea that the world beyond the Moon and planets was immutable. So observers argued that the phenomenon was something in the Earth's atmosphere. However Tycho noted that the object remained stationary from night to night—never changing its parallax—so it must lie far away. He published his observations in the small book De nova et nullius aevi memoria prius visa stella (Latin for "Concerning the new and previously unseen star") in 1573. It is from the title of this book that the modern word nova for cataclysmic variable stars is derived.
  The most recent supernova to be seen in the Milky Way galaxy was SN 1604, which was observed on October 9, 1604. Several people, including Johannes van Heeck, noted the sudden appearance of this star, but it was Johannes Kepler who became noted for his systematic study of the object itself. He published his observations in the work De Stella nova in pede Serpentarii.
  Galileo, like Tycho before him, tried in vain to measure the parallax of this new
caption: Multiwavelength X-ray image of the remnant of Kepler's Supernova, SN 1604. (Chandra X-ray Observatory)
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