SN 185

SN 185 was a supernova which appeared in the year 185 AD, near 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,[3] and may have been recorded in Roman literature.[2] It remained visible in the night sky for eight months. This is believed to have been the first supernova recorded by humankind.

The gaseous shell RCW 86 is suspected as being the supernova remnant of this event. The distance to this object is estimated to be 8200 light years.[4][5] Recent X-ray studies show a good match for the expected age.[6]

RCW 86 is an optical designation that refers to a bright complex of optical emission filaments in the southwest part of the shell, which also exhibits the brightest radio and X-ray emission.[7] RCW 86 is a shell-type SNR of large angular size ~45 arcmin.[7]

X-ray source

The average position of the currently brightest X-ray source is RA 14h 41m 51.42±5s Dec -62° 36′ 12.9″ (J2000), whereas a very bright, unresolved, radio source inside the remnant at RA 14h 41m 44.5s Dec -62° 34′ 47″ (J2000) is clearly not associated with the unresolved X-ray source.[8] The border between Centaurus and Circinus lies within the 5" radius, 95% confidence region.[8] The evidence for long term variability and the presence of a late type star close to the X-ray position favor the identification of the X-ray source with an active star such as the one from the USNO-A2.0 catalogue at an angular distance of 3" to the unresolved X-ray source, rather than with the stellar remnant associated with RCW 86.[8] The supernova remnant is in Circinus and Centaurus, but the causitive X-ray source is most likely in Centaurus. All of the X-ray sources associated with Cen XR-1 are within the borders of SN 185.

Supernova remnant (SNR) G315.0-02.3 has been identified with Centaurus X-1. SNR G315.4-2.3 has aliases: MSH 14-63, RCW 86, PKS 1439-62, Cen XR-1, and 1H 1438-623.[1] G315.4-2.3 (Cen XR-1) is the most likely SNR of SN 185 (RCW 86).[3]

Ariel 5 first detected Centaurus X-1 as 2A 1439-627.[9] Cen X-1 is also within Centaurus.

Centaurus XR-1 was initially discovered at RA 14h 28m Dec -63° by a rocket flight.[10] Cen XR-1 is in the constellation Centaurus. The discrete source was observed on only one scan and has a positional uncertainty of 4°.[11]

See also

List of supernovae
History of supernova observation
List of supernova remnants
List of supernova candidates

References

^ a b Chin YN, Huang YL. "Identification of the Guest Star of AD 185 as a comet rather than a supernova".
^ a b Stothers, Richard (1977). "Is the Supernova of CE 185 Recorded in Ancient Roman Literature". Isis 68 (3): 443–447. doi:10.1086/351822. JSTOR 231322.
^ a b 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.
^ APOD, 28 September 2006
^ "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.
^ "New evidence links stellar remains to oldest recorded supernova". ESA News. 2006-09-18. Retrieved 2006-05-24.
^ a b Völk HJ, Berezhko EG, Ksenofontov LT (2005). "Magnetic field amplification in Tycho and other shell-type supernova remnants". Astron Astrophys. 433 (1): 229–40. arXiv:astro-ph/0409453. Bibcode 2005A&A...433..229V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20042015.
^ a b c Vink J, Bocchino F, Damiani F, Kaastra JS (2000). "An unresolved X-ray source inside the supernova remnant RCW 86". arXiv:astro-ph/0008457 [astro-ph].
^ Watson MG, Ricketts MJ, Fraser GW, Sims MR (1979). "Recent results on galactic X-ray sources from the Ariel V sky survey instrument". In: X-ray astronomy; Proceedings of the Symposium (Oxford: Pergamon Press, Ltd.): 101–4. Bibcode 1979xras.proc..101W.
^ Friedman H, Byram ET, Chubb TA (April 1967). "Distribution and Variability of Cosmic X-Ray Sources". Sci. 156 (3773): 374–8. Bibcode 1967Sci...156..374F. doi:10.1126/science.156.3773.374. PMID 17812381.
^ Dolan JF (Apr 1970). "A Catalogue of Discrete Celestial X-Ray Sources". Astron J. 75 (4): 223–30. Bibcode 1970AJ.....75..223D. doi:10.1086/110966.