This is a list of supernovae that are of historical significance. These include supernovae that were observed prior to the availability of photography, and individual events that have been the subject of a scientific paper that contributed to supernova theory.
List
| Supernova designation (year) |
Constellation | Apparent magnitude |
Distance (light years) |
Type | Galaxy | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SN 185 | Centaurus (Cen) | +3 to +4[1] | 8,200 | I | Milky Way | Surviving description sketchy; modern estimates of maximum apparent magnitude vary from +4 to −8. The remnant is probably RCW 86, some 8200 ly distant,[2] making it comparable to the somewhat closer SN 1006. Some researchers have suggested it was a comet, not a supernova.[1][3] |
| SN 386 | Sagittarius (Sgr) | +1.5 | >16,000 | Milky Way | Might have been a nova and not a supernova | |
| SN 393 | Scorpius (Sco) | –0 | 34,000 | Milky Way | ||
| SN 1006 | Lupus (Lup) | –7.5[4] | 7,200 | I | Milky Way | Widely observed on Earth; in apparent magnitude, the brightest stellar event in recorded history.[5] |
| SN 1054 | Taurus (Tau) | –6 | 6,500 | II | Milky Way | Remnant is the Crab Nebula with its pulsar (neutron star) |
| SN 1181 | Cassiopeia (Cas) | 0 | 8,500 | Milky Way | ||
| SN 1572 | Cassiopeia (Cas) | –4.0 | 8,000 | Ia | Milky Way | Tycho's Nova |
| SN 1604 | Ophiuchus (Oph) | –3 | 14,000 | I | Milky Way | Kepler's Star; most recent readily visible supernova within the Milky Way |
| ca. 1680 | Cassiopeia (Cas) | +5 | 9,000 | IIb | Milky Way | Evidently never visually conspicuous, due to interstellar dust; but the remnant, Cas A, is the brightest extrasolar radio source in the sky |
| SN 1885A | Andromeda (And) | +7 | 2,400,000 | Ipec | Andromeda Galaxy | First observation of an extragalactic supernova |
| SN 1940B | Coma Berenices (Com) | +12.8 | 38,000,000 | II-P | NGC 4725 | first observation of a Type II supernova |
| SN 1961V | Perseus (Per) | +12.5 | 30,000,000 | II? | NGC 1058 | potential supernova impostor[6] |
| SN 1972E | Centaurus (Cen) | +8.7 [7] | 10,900,000 | Ia | NGC 5253 | followed for more than a year; became the prototype Type Ia supernova |
| SN 1983N | Hydra (Hya) | +11.8 | 15,000,000 | Ib | Messier 83 | first observation of a Type Ib supernova |
| SN 1986J | Andromeda (And) | +18.4 | 30,000,000 | IIn | NGC 891 | bright in the radio frequency range |
| SN 1987A | Dorado (Dor) | +2.9 | 160,000 | IIpec | Large Magellanic Cloud | intense radiation reached the earth on February 23, 1987, 7:35:35 UT. This supernova was especially interesting for two reasons: The star could be found on old pictures and neutrinos from the supernova were detected. |
| SN 1993J | Ursa Major (UMa) | +10.8 | 11,000,000 | IIb | M81 | brightest supernova on the northern hemisphere since 1954 |
| SN 2002bj | Lupus | +14.7 | 160,000,000 | .Ia | NGC 1821 | AM Canum Venaticorum-type outburst.[8] |
| SN 2003fg | Boötes (Boö) | 4,000,000,000 | Ia | anonymous galaxy | also known as the "Champagne supernova" | |
| SN 2005ap | Coma Berenices | 4,700,000,000 | II | ? | announced in 2007 to be the brightest supernova up to that point. | |
| SN 2005gj | 865,000,000 | Ia/II-n | ? | notable for having characteristics of both Type Ia and Type IIn. | ||
| SN 2005gl | Pisces (Psc) | +16.5 | 200,000,000 | II-n | NGC 266 | star could be found on old pictures.[9] |
| SN 2006gy | Perseus (Per) | +15 | 240,000,000 | IIn (*) | NGC 1260 | observed by NASA, *with a peak over 70 days possibly a new type, caused by a massive star. |
| SN 2007bi | Virgo (Vir) | +18.3 | ? | Ic? | anonymous dwarf galaxy | extremely bright and long-lasting, the first good observational match for the pair-instability supernova model postulated for stars of initial mass greater than 140 solar masses (even better than SN 2006gy). The precursor is estimated at 200 solar masses, similar to the first stars of the early universe.[10] |
| SN 2008D | Lynx | 88,000,000 | Ibc | NGC 2770 | first supernova to be observed while it exploded. |
See also
History of supernova observation
List of supernova remnants
List of supernova candidates
External links
List of all supernovae at IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT).
List of recent supernovae at IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT).
References
^ a b Chin YN, Huang YL. "Identification of the Guest Star of AD 185 as a comet rather than a supernova".
^ "New evidence links stellar remains to oldest recorded supernova" Chandra X-ray Observatory, released 2006-09-18, revised 2009-02-20, retrieved 2010-02-26.
^ Zhao FY, Strom RG, Jiang SY (2006). "The Guest Star of AD185 Must Have Been a Supernova". Chinese J Astron Astrophys. 6 (5): 635–40. Bibcode 2006ChJAA...6..635Z. doi:10.1088/1009-9271/6/5/17.
^ Winkler, P. Frank; Gupta, Gaurav; Long, Knox S. (2003). "The SN 1006 Remnant: Optical Proper Motions, Deep Imaging, Distance, and Brightness at Maximum". The Astrophysical Journal 585 (1): 324–335. arXiv:astro-ph/0208415. Bibcode 2003ApJ...585..324W. doi:10.1086/345985.
^ National Optical Astronomy Observatory (2003-03-05). "Astronomers Peg Brightness of History’s Brightest Star". Press release. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
^ Voisey, Jon (5 November 2010). "What was SN 1961V?". Universe Today. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
^ Ardeberg, A.; de Groot, M. (1973). "The 1972 supernova in NGC 5253. Photometric results from the first observing season". Astronomy & Astrophysics 28: 295–304. Bibcode 1973A&A....28..295A.
^ Sanders, Robert. "Rapid supernova could be new class of exploding star". UC Newsroom (University of California, Berkeley). Retrieved 2009-11-06.
^ supernovae.net
^ Science Daily, "Superbright Supernova Is First of Its Kind", 5 December 2009 (accessed 2009-12-15)
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