SN 1006 was the brightest supernova in recorded history, seen across the world, and its remnant is a thin, glowing shell in Lupus where cosmic rays are made.
At a glance
| type | supernova remnant |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 7,180 light-years (2.2 kpc) |
| its light left it | 7,180 years ago |
| size in the piece | about 63 light-years acrossmodel |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with. Model marks a property of the piece’s galaxy model rather than a measurement.
About SN 1006
A new star appeared low in the southern sky and was recorded by observers in China, Japan, the Arab world and Europe; the Egyptian astronomer Ali ibn Ridwan described it as far brighter than Venus. It stayed visible for many months.
The remnant is a large, nearly circular shell lying well above the Galactic plane, in thin surroundings. It was a thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf. In X-rays its two opposite rims glow not from hot gas but from electrons moving close to the speed of light, gyrating in magnetic fields: the first clear evidence that supernova shocks accelerate particles to cosmic-ray energies.
In visible light it is very faint, showing only delicate filaments where the shock meets neutral hydrogen.
What you see in the piece
It is drawn as a wide, hollow shell of shocked gas, barely visible in visible light; the radio band shows its shell.
Measured or modelled
The drawn extent is modelled from its size on the sky and distance.
Questions
What was SN 1006?
It was the brightest supernova recorded in history, a new star seen by astronomers across the world, in what is now the constellation Lupus.
How far away is SN 1006?
The remnant of SN 1006 is about 7,180 light-years (2.2 kpc) from the Sun.