by APOD Robot » Sat Jul 12, 2014 4:10 am
SN 1006 Supernova Remnant
Explanation: A new star, likely the brightest supernova in recorded human history, lit up
planet Earth's sky in the year 1006 AD. The expanding debris cloud from the stellar explosion, found in the southerly constellation
of Lupus, still puts on a cosmic light show across the
electromagnetic spectrum. In fact,
this composite view includes X-ray data in blue from the
Chandra Observatory, optical data in yellowish hues, and radio image data in red. Now known as the SN 1006
supernova remnant, the debris cloud appears to be about 60 light-years across and is understood to represent the remains of a white dwarf star. Part of a
binary star system, the compact white dwarf gradually captured material from its companion star. The buildup in mass finally triggered a
thermonuclear explosion that destroyed the dwarf star. Because the distance to the supernova remnant is about 7,000
light-years, that explosion actually happened 7,000 years before the light reached Earth in 1006. Shockwaves in the remnant
accelerate particles to extreme energies and are thought to be a source of the mysterious
cosmic rays.
[/b]
[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140712.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_140712.jpg[/img] [size=150]SN 1006 Supernova Remnant[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] A new star, likely the brightest supernova in recorded human history, lit up [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060430.html]planet Earth's sky[/url] in the year 1006 AD. The expanding debris cloud from the stellar explosion, found in the southerly constellation [url=http://www.seasky.org/pictures/sky7b06.html#Lupus]of Lupus[/url], still puts on a cosmic light show across the [url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/ems1.html]electromagnetic[/url] spectrum. In fact, [url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2008/sn1006c/]this composite view[/url] includes X-ray data in blue from the [url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/index.html]Chandra Observatory[/url], optical data in yellowish hues, and radio image data in red. Now known as the SN 1006 [url=http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/supernova_remnants.html]supernova remnant[/url], the debris cloud appears to be about 60 light-years across and is understood to represent the remains of a white dwarf star. Part of a [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060521.html]binary star system[/url], the compact white dwarf gradually captured material from its companion star. The buildup in mass finally triggered a [url=http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0611776]thermonuclear[/url] explosion that destroyed the dwarf star. Because the distance to the supernova remnant is about 7,000 [url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_lookback.html]light-years[/url], that explosion actually happened 7,000 years before the light reached Earth in 1006. Shockwaves in the remnant [url=http://arxiv.org/abs/0803.0805]accelerate[/url] particles to extreme energies and are thought to be a source of the mysterious [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap001202.html]cosmic rays[/url].
[b][table][tr][td=left][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=140711]<< Previous APOD[/url][/td] [td=center][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/view_retro.php?date=0712]This Day in APOD[/url][/td] [td=right][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=140713]Next APOD >>[/url][/td][/tr][/table][/b]