Supernova 185

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Supernova
185
Overlay of the images of the Chandra space telescope, XMM-Newton (blue, green) and the Spitzer space telescope as well as the WISE (red).
Overlay of the images of the Chandra space telescope , XMM-Newton (blue, green) and the Spitzer space telescope as well as the WISE (red).
Position
equinox : J2000.0
Right ascension 14h 40m 29s
declination -62 ° 38.7 ′
Further data
distance

9,100

history
Date of discovery

December 7, 185

Catalog names
ESO  134-11 • RCW 86
Aladin previewer

The Supernova 185 (SN 185) was in December of 185 observed supernova . It occurred near Alpha Centauri between the constellations Centaur and Circle and reached an estimated brightness of −6 to −8 mag . Supernova 185 was observed and described by Chinese astronomers, making it the oldest recorded supernova in history.

Historical description

In the 5th century book of the Later Han ( Hou Hanshu ), a chronicle of Chinese history from 25 to 220 AD, the Astrological Annals describe how astronomers did in the second year of the Zhongping era of Emperor Han Lingdi observed the appearance of a "guest star" in the Chinese constellation Nanmen . This star was visible for several months, varied in color and finally became fainter and fainter until it disappeared.

The appearance of the "guest star" could be dated on the basis of the Annals on 7 December 185, the disappearance of the phenomenon in the summer of year 186 or 187. The constellation Nanmen (South Gate) is with the stars Alpha and Beta Centauri associated .

It is controversial among historians whether the event is also described in Roman literature. Possible references in ancient texts do not go beyond the information provided by the Hou Hanshu .

Scientific evaluation

The identification of the "guest star" described in the Hou Hanshu as a supernova was controversial for a long time. Other readings of the Chinese text have been interpreted as describing a comet or as the simultaneous appearance of a supernova with the observation of comet Swift-Tuttle . Since the Chinese astronomers have not described any movement of the new star, the interpretation as a comet is considered unlikely. The Super Nova 185 is the oldest documented supernova in history.

At the end of the 1950s, the RCW 86 emission nebula, 8,200 light years away, was discovered, which was soon associated with the “guest star” from 185. Research confirmed that RCW 86 was indeed supernova remnant ; a more precise dating of the supernova, the remains of which represent RCW 86 , was achieved in 2006 with the help of the Chandra X-ray telescope and the XMM-Newton space observatory . According to this, the observed remnant is about 1800 years old, which agrees well with the age of the phenomenon described in Hou Hanshu .

See also

literature

  • David H. Clark, Francis Richard Stephenson: The Historical Supernovae , Pergamon Press, Oxford 1977, ISBN 0-08-021639-0 , ISBN 0-08-020914-9 .
  • Fu-Yuan Zhao, RG Strom and Shi-Yang Jiang: The Guest Star of AD185 must have been a Supernova . In: Chinese Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics , Vol. 6, No. 5, 2006, pp. 635-640.
  • Jacco Vink, Johan Bleeker, Kurt van der Heyden, Andrei Bykov, Aya Bamba and Ryo Yamazaki: The X-Ray Synchrotron Emission of RCW 86 and the Implications for Its Age . In: The Astrophysical Journal Letters . No. 648, 2006, pp. L33-L37.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=RCW+86&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id
  2. ↑ Völk HJ, Berezhko EC, Ksenofontov LT: Magnetic field amplification in Tycho and other shell-type supernova remnants . In: Astron Astrophys. . 433, No. 1, 2005, pp. 229-40. arxiv : astro-ph / 0409453 . bibcode : 2005A & A ... 433..229V . doi : 10.1051 / 0004-6361: 20042015 .
  3. ↑ Bradley E. Schaefer, Astrophysical Journal . No. 459, 1996, p. 438.
  4. ↑ Fu-Yuan Zhao et al., P. 636.
  5. ↑ The Chinese text does not give an exact time in this case, but most astronomers assume July or August 187, cf. Bradley E. Schaefer, The Astronomical Journal . Vol. 110, No. 4, 1995, p. 1793; Fu-Yuan Zhao et al., Pp. 638-639.
  6. ↑ Richard Stothers, Isis . Vol. 68, No. 3, 1977, p. 442.
  7. ↑ Y.-N. Chin, Y.-L. Huang, Nature . Vol. 371, 1994, p. 398.
  8. ^ Bradley E. Schaefer, The Astronomical Journal . Vol. 110, No. 4, 1995, p. 1793.
  9. ↑ Fu-Yuan Zhao et al., P. 639.
  10. ^ BE Westerlund, DS Mathewson, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . No. 131, 1966, p. 371.
  11. ^ Richard G. Strom, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . No. 268, 1994, p. L5.
  12. ↑ Jacco Vink, et al., P. L33.

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