Kepler's Supernova

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SN 1604
Keplers supernova.jpg
A false-color composite (CXO/HST/Spitzer Space Telescope) image of the supernova remnant nebula from SN 1604
Event type Supernova   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Ia [1] [2]
Date8–9 October 1604
Right ascension 17h 30m 42s
Declination −21° 29′
Epoch J2000
Galactic coordinates G4.5+6.8
DistanceLess than 20,000 light-years (6.1  kpc)
RemnantShell
Host Milky Way
Progenitor White dwarf – red giant double star system
Progenitor typeType Ia supernova
Colour (B-V)Unknown
Notable featuresLatest observed supernova
in the Milky Way.
Maintained naked-eye
visibility for 18 months.
Peak apparent magnitude −2.25 to −2.5
Other designations1ES 1727-21.4, 3C 358, ESO 588-4, GCRV 67121, HR 6515, IRAS 17276-2126, MRC 1727-214, PK 004+06 1, PN G004.5+06.8, 1RXS J173040.4-212836, SN 1604A, IRAS Z17276-2126, SN 1604, AJG 71, CSI-21-17276, CTB 41, Kes 57, MSH 17-2-11, OHIO T -246, PKS 1727-21, PKS 1727-214, PKS J1730-2129, [PBD2003] G004.5+06.8
Preceded by SN 1572
Followed by Cassiopeia A (unobserved, c. 1680), G1.9+0.3 (unobserved, c. 1868), SN 1885A (next observed)
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SN 1604, also known as Kepler's Supernova, Kepler's Nova or Kepler's Star, was a Type Ia supernova [1] [2] that occurred in the Milky Way, in the constellation Ophiuchus. Appearing in 1604, it is the most recent supernova in the Milky Way galaxy to have been unquestionably observed by the naked eye, [3] occurring no farther than 6 kiloparsecs (20,000 light-years) from Earth. Before the adoption of the current naming system for supernovae, it was named for Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer who described it in De Stella Nova .

Contents

Observation

Visible to the naked eye, Kepler's Star was brighter at its peak than any other star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of −2.5. It was visible during the day for over three weeks. Records of its sighting exist in European, Chinese, Korean, and Arabic sources. [4] [5]

Johannes Kepler's original drawing from De Stella Nova (1606) depicting the location of the stella nova, marked with an N (8 grid squares down, 4 over from the left) Kepler Drawing of SN 1604.png
Johannes Kepler's original drawing from De Stella Nova (1606) depicting the location of the stella nova, marked with an N (8 grid squares down, 4 over from the left)

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 the galaxy have been seen since S Andromedae in 1885. SN 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud was visible to the naked eye. [6]

Evidence exists for two Milky Way supernovae whose signals would have reached Earth c. 1680 and 1870 – Cassiopeia A, and G1.9+0.3 respectively. There is no historical record of either having been detected in those years probably as absorption by interstellar dust made them fainter. [7]

The remnant of Kepler's supernova is considered to be one of the prototypical objects of its kind and is still an object of much study in astronomy. [8]

Controversies

Astronomers of the time (including Kepler) were concerned with observing the conjunction of Mars and Jupiter, which they saw as an auspicious conjunction linked to the Star of Bethlehem. However, cloudy weather prevented Kepler from making observations. Wilhelm Fabry, Michael Maestlin, and Helisaeus Roeslin were able to make observations on 9 October, but did not record the supernova. [9] The first recorded observation in Europe was by Lodovico delle Colombe in northern Italy on 9 October 1604. [10] Kepler was only able to begin his observations on 17 October while working at the imperial court in Prague for Emperor Rudolf II. [11] The supernova was subsequently named after him, even though he was not its first observer, as his observations tracked the object for an entire year. These observations were described in his book De Stella nova in pede Serpentarii ("On the new star in Ophiuchus's foot", Prague 1606).

Delle Colombe–Galileo controversy

In 1606, Delle Colombe published Discourse of Lodovico delle Colombe in which he shows that the "Star Newly Appeared in October 1604 is neither a Comet nor a New Star" and where he defended an Aristotelian view of cosmology after Galileo Galilei had used the occasion of the supernova to challenge the Aristotelian system. [12] The description of Galileo's claims is as follows:

Galileo explained the meaning and relevance of parallax, reported that the nova displayed none, and concluded, as a certainty, that it lay beyond the moon. Here he might have stopped, having dispatched his single arrow. Instead he sketched a theory that ruined the Aristotelian cosmos: the nova very probably consisted of a large quantity of airy material that issued from the earth and shone by reflected sunlight, like Aristotelian comets. Unlike them, however, it could rise beyond the moon. It not only brought change to the heavens, but did so provocatively by importing corruptible earthy elements into the pure quintessence. That raised heaven-shattering possibilities. The interstellar space might be filled with something similar to our atmosphere, as in the physics of the Stoics, to which Tycho had referred in his lengthy account of the nova of 1572. And if the material of the firmament resembled that of bodies here below, a theory of motion built on experience with objects within our reach might apply also to the celestial regions. "But I am not so bold as to think that things cannot take place differently from the way I have specified." [13]

Kepler–Roeslin controversy

In Kepler's De Stella Nova (1606), he criticized Roeslin concerning this supernova. Kepler argued that in his astrological prognostications, Roeslin had picked out just the two comets, the Great Comet of 1556 and 1580. Roeslin responded in 1609 that this was indeed what he had done. When Kepler replied later that year, he simply observed that by including a broader range of data Roeslin could have made a better argument. [14]

Supernova remnant

X-ray image of SN 1604 from the Chandra X-ray Observatory Kepler's Supernova Remnant- A Star's Death Comes to Life (2941498208).jpg
X-ray image of SN 1604 from the Chandra X-ray Observatory

The supernova remnant of SN 1604, Kepler's Star, was discovered in 1941 at the Mount Wilson Observatory as a dim nebula with a brightness of 19 mag. [15] Only filaments can be seen in visible light, but it is a strong radio and X-ray source. Its diameter is 4 arc min. Distance estimates place it between 3 and more than 7 kiloparsecs (10,000 to 23,000 lightyears), [16] with the current consensus being a distance of 5±1 kpc, as of 2021. [17]

The available evidence supports a type Ia supernova as the source of this remnant, [1] which is the result of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf interacting with a companion star. [18] The integrated X-ray spectrum resembles that of Tycho's supernova remnant, a type Ia supernova. The abundance of oxygen relative to iron in the remnant of SN 1604 is roughly solar, whereas a core-collapse scenario should produce a much higher abundance of oxygen. No surviving central source has been identified, which is consistent with a type Ia event. Finally, the historical records for the brightness of this event are consistent with type Ia supernovae. [1]

There is evidence for interaction of the supernova ejecta with circumstellar matter from the progenitor star, which is unexpected for type Ia but has been observed in some cases. [1] A bow shock located to the north of this system is believed to have been created by mass loss prior to the explosion. [16] Observations of the remnant are consistent with the interaction of a supernova with a bipolar planetary nebula that belonged to one or both of the progenitor stars. [18] The remnant is not spherically symmetric, which is likely due to the progenitor being a runaway star system. The bow shock is caused by the interaction of the advancing stellar wind with the interstellar medium. A remnant rich in nitrogen and silicon indicates that the system consisted of a white dwarf with an evolved companion that had likely already passed through the asymptotic giant branch stage. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova</span> Nuclear explosion in a white dwarf star

A nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramatic appearance of a nova vary, depending on the circumstances of the two progenitor stars. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close binary systems. The main sub-classes of novae are classical novae, recurrent novae (RNe), and dwarf novae. They are all considered to be cataclysmic variable stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supernova</span> Explosion of a star at its end of life

A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The original object, called the progenitor, either collapses to a neutron star or black hole, or is completely destroyed to form a diffuse nebula. The peak optical luminosity of a supernova can be comparable to that of an entire galaxy before fading over several weeks or months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SN 1987A</span> 1987 supernova event in the constellation Dorado

SN 1987A was a type II supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. It occurred approximately 51.4 kiloparsecs from Earth and was the closest observed supernova since Kepler's Supernova in 1604. Light and neutrinos from the explosion reached Earth on February 23, 1987 and was designated "SN 1987A" as the first supernova discovered that year. Its brightness peaked in May of that year, with an apparent magnitude of about 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supernova remnant</span> Remnants of an exploded star

A supernova remnant (SNR) is the structure resulting from the explosion of a star in a supernova. The supernova remnant is bounded by an expanding shock wave, and consists of ejected material expanding from the explosion, and the interstellar material it sweeps up and shocks along the way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crab Nebula</span> Supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus

The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The common name comes from a drawing that somewhat resembled a crab with arms produced by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, in 1842 or 1843 using a 36-inch (91 cm) telescope. The nebula was discovered by English astronomer John Bevis in 1731. It corresponds with a bright supernova recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054 as a guest star. The nebula was the first astronomical object identified that corresponds with a historically-observed supernova explosion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinwheel Galaxy</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

The Pinwheel Galaxy is a face-on spiral galaxy located 21 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 and was communicated that year to Charles Messier, who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 61</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

Messier 61 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It was first discovered by Barnaba Oriani on May 5, 1779, six days before Charles Messier discovered the same galaxy. Messier had observed it on the same night as Oriani but had mistaken it for a comet. Its distance has been estimated to be 45.61 million light years from the Milky Way Galaxy. It is a member of the M61 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SN 1885A</span> Supernova event of August 1885 in the Andromeda Galaxy

SN 1885A was a supernova in the Andromeda Galaxy, the only one seen in that galaxy so far by astronomers. It was the first supernova ever seen outside the Milky Way, though it was not appreciated at the time how far away it was. It is also known as "Supernova 1885".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SN 1006</span> Supernova observed from Earth in the year 1006 CE

SN 1006 was a supernova that is likely the brightest observed stellar event in recorded history, reaching an estimated −7.5 visual magnitude, and exceeding roughly sixteen times the brightness of Venus. Appearing between April 30 and May 1, 1006, in the constellation of Lupus, this "guest star" was described by observers across China, Japan, modern-day Iraq, Egypt, and Europe, and was possibly recorded in North American petroglyphs. Some reports state it was clearly visible in the daytime. Modern astronomers now consider its distance from Earth to be about 7,200 light-years or 2,200 parsecs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SN 1572</span> Supernova in the constellation Cassiopeia

SN 1572, or B Cassiopeiae, was a supernova of Type Ia in the constellation Cassiopeia, one of eight supernovae visible to the naked eye in historical records. It appeared in early November 1572 and was independently discovered by many individuals.

The SuperNova Early Warning System (SNEWS) is a network of neutrino detectors designed to give early warning to astronomers in the event of a supernova in the Milky Way, our home galaxy, or in a nearby galaxy such as the Large Magellanic Cloud or the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type Ia supernova</span> Type of supernova in binary systems

A Type Ia supernova is a type of supernova that occurs in binary systems in which one of the stars is a white dwarf. The other star can be anything from a giant star to an even smaller white dwarf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1309</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Eridanus

NGC 1309 is a spiral galaxy located approximately 120 million light-years away, appearing in the constellation Eridanus. It is about 75,000 light-years across, and is about 3/4s the width of the Milky Way. Its shape is classified as SA(s)bc, meaning that it has moderately wound spiral arms and no ring. Bright blue areas of star formation can be seen in the spiral arms, while the yellowish central nucleus contains older-population stars. NGC 1309 is one of over 200 members of the Eridanus Group of galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SN 185</span> Possible supernova event

SN 185 was a transient astronomical event observed in the year AD 185, likely a supernova. The transient occurred in the direction of Alpha Centauri, between the constellations Circinus and Centaurus, centered at RA 14h 43m Dec −62° 30′, in Circinus. This "guest star" was observed by Chinese astronomers in the Book of Later Han (后汉书), and might have been recorded in Roman literature. It remained visible in the night sky for eight months. This is believed to be the first supernova for which records exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of supernova observation</span> Ancient and modern recorded observations of supernovae explosions

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">G1.9+0.3</span> Supernova remnant in the constellation of Sagittarius

G1.9+0.3 is a supernova remnant (SNR) in the constellation of Sagittarius. It is the youngest-known SNR in the Milky Way, resulting from an explosion the light from which would have reached Earth some time between 1890 and 1908. The explosion was not seen from Earth as it was obscured by the dense gas and dust of the Galactic Center, where it occurred. The remnant's young age was established by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the VLA radio observatory. It was a type Ia supernova. The remnant has a radius of over 1.3 light-years.

<i>De Stella Nova</i> Book by Johannes Kepler

De Stella Nova in Pede Serpentarii, generally known as De Stella Nova was a book written by Johannes Kepler between 1605 and 1606, when the book was published in Prague.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type Iax supernova</span> Dwarf star remnant of a supernova

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">SN 386</span>

SN 386 is a probable transient astronomical event in the constellation Sagittarius, which appeared as a "guest star" that was reported by Chinese astronomers in 386 CE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lodovico delle Colombe</span> Italian scholar

Lodovico delle Colombe was an Italian Aristotelian scholar, famous for his battles with Galileo Galilei in a series of controversies in physics and astronomy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chandra X-Ray Observatory". Kepler's Supernova Remnant: A Star's Death Comes to Life. Retrieved 16 January 2006.
  2. 1 2 Reynolds, S. P.; Borkowski, K. J.; Hwang, U.; Hughes, J. P.; Badenes, C.; Laming, J. M.; Blondin, J. M. (2 October 2007). "A Deep Chandra Observation of Kepler's Supernova Remnant: A Type Ia Event with Circumstellar Interaction". The Astrophysical Journal . 668 (2): L135–L138. arXiv: 0708.3858 . Bibcode: 2007ApJ...668L.135R . doi: 10.1086/522830 .
  3. ↑ "APOD: 2013 May 15 - Kepler's Supernova Remnant in X-Rays". NASA.gov. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  4. ↑ Stephenson, F. Richard & Green, David A., Historical Supernovae and their Remnants, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2002, pp. 60–71.
  5. ↑ Neuhäuser, Ralph; Rada, Wafiq; Kunitzsch, Paul; Neuhäuser, Dagmar L. (2016). "Arabic Reports about Supernovae 1604 and 1572 in Rawḥ al-Rūḥ by cĪsā b. Luṭf Allāh from Yemen". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 47 (4): 359–374. Bibcode:2016JHA....47..359N. doi:10.1177/0021828616669894. S2CID   125393243.
  6. ↑ "SN1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud". ESO.org. European Southern Observatory. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  7. ↑ "Chandra X-Ray Observatory". Discovery of Most Recent Supernova in Our Galaxy, May 14, 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "Chandra :: Photo Album :: Kepler's Supernova Remnant :: September 11, 2012". chandra.harvard.edu. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Burke-Gaffney, W. (1937). "Kelper and the Star of Bethlehem" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 31: 417–425. Bibcode:1937JRASC..31..417B . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  10. ↑ Delle Colombe L., Discorso di Lodovico Delle Colombe nel quale si dimostra che la nuova Stella apparita l'Ottobre passato 1604 nel Sagittario non è Cometa, ne stella generata, ò creata di nuovo, ne apparente: ma una di quelle che furono da principio nel cielo; e ciò esser conforme alla vera Filosofia, Teologia, e Astronomiche dimostrazioni, Firenze, Giunti, 1606.
  11. ↑ "Bill Blair's Kepler's Supernova Remnant Page". Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  12. ↑ delle Colombe, Lodovico (1606). Discorso di Lodovico delle Colombe (in Italian).
  13. ↑ Heilbron, John L. (2010). Galileo. Oxford University Press, p. 120.
  14. ↑ Fritz, Gerd. "Dialogical Structures in 17th Century Controversies" (PDF). www.festschrift-gerd-fritz.de. Gerd fritz. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Baade, W. (1943). "Nova Ophiuchi of 1604 AS a Supernova". The Astrophysical Journal. 97: 119. Bibcode:1943ApJ....97..119B. doi: 10.1086/144505 .
  16. 1 2 Patnaude, Daniel J.; Badenes, Carles; Park, Sangwook; Laming, J. Martin (2012). "The Origin of Kepler's Supernova Remnant". The Astrophysical Journal. 756 (1): 6. arXiv: 1206.6799 . Bibcode:2012ApJ...756....6P. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/756/1/6. S2CID   119104810.
  17. 1 2 Kasuga, Tomoaki; Vink, Jacco; Katsuda, Satoru; Uchida, Hiroyuki; Bamba, Aya; Sato, Toshiki; Hughes, John P. (July 2021). "Spatially Resolved RGS Analysis of Kepler's Supernova Remnant". The Astrophysical Journal. 915 (1): 42. arXiv: 2105.04235 . Bibcode:2021ApJ...915...42K. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/abff4f . S2CID   234336681. 42.
  18. 1 2 Chiotellis, A.; Boumis, P.; Spetsieri, Z. T. (May 2020). "The Interaction of Type Ia Supernovae with Planetary Nebulae: The Case of Kepler's Supernova Remnant". Galaxies. 8 (2): 38. arXiv: 2004.14493 . Bibcode:2020Galax...8...38C. doi: 10.3390/galaxies8020038 .

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