A
ribbon of gas marks the supernova remnant of a star that exploded more than
1,000 years ago, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Observers
in Africa, Europe, and Asia recorded seeing the light from a massive supernova
explosion on May 1, 1007 A.D. A white dwarf star called SN 1006 had died
earlier in a brilliant flash of light 7,000 light-years away, creating an
artificial star brighter than any star in history and only surpassed by the
moon in luminance.
Astronomers
picked up on the circular ring of expanding material at the supernova’s
location in the mid-1960s, and now Hubble has imaged the widening blast wave that
has a diameter of 60 light-years as it sweeps through the surrounding gas at 6
million miles per hour. The Hubble image uses a combination of observations
taken in blue, yellow-green, and near-infrared light, as well as hydrogen-light
surveys that see the glowing radiation from the passing blast wave.
— Hubble Heritage Team and SPACE.com
Staff
Credit: NASA, ESA, and
the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
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