SN 1054
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| Supernova SN 1054 | |
 The Crab Nebula, remnant of SN 1054. Credit: NASA/ESA. |
|
| Observation data (Epoch ?) | |
|---|---|
| Supernova type | Type II |
| Remnant type | Nebula |
| Host Galaxy | Milky Way |
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Right ascension | 5h 34.5m |
| Declination | +22o 01' |
| Galactic coordinates | G.184.6-5.8 |
| Discovery Date | 1054 |
| Peak magnitude (V) | -6[1] |
| Distance | 6.5 kly (2.0 kpc) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Progenitor | Unknown |
| Progenitor type | Unknown |
| Colour (B-V) | Unknown |
SN 1054 (Crab Supernova) was a supernova that was widely seen on Earth in the year 1054. It was recorded by Chinese and Arab astronomers as being bright enough to see in daylight for 23 days and was visible in the night sky for 653 days.[1][2] It was located in the Milky Way galaxy at a distance of 6,300 light years, and was likely a Type II supernova.
There is also evidence the Mimbres and Anasazi Native Americans saw and recorded SN 1054. [3][4]
It has also been claimed that an obscure entry in a number of Irish monastic annals originally referred to SN 1054 but was subsequently corrupted, becoming in the process an allegorical fantasy based on the legend of the Antichrist.[5]
The cloudy remnants of SN 1054 are now known as the Crab Nebula, also referred to as Messier 1 or M1; being the first Messier Object catalogued in 1774. X-rays from this object were detected in April 1963 with a high-altitude rocket of type Aerobee with an X-ray detector developed at the Naval Research Laboratory; the X-ray source was named Taurus X-1, and the energy emitted in X-rays by the Crab nebula is about 100 times more than that emitted in the visual light.
On November 9, 1968, a pulsating radio source, the Crab Pulsar, was discovered in M1 by astronomers of the Arecibo Observatory 300-meter radio telescope in Puerto Rico. The pulsar rotates 30 times per second.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Supernova 1054 - Creation of the Crab Nebula
- ^ Brecher, K.; et al. (1983). "Ancient records and the Crab Nebula supernova". The Observatory 103: 106–113.
- ^ An Anasazi cliff painting near the great house of Penasco Blanco may portray SN 1054.
- ^ Miller, Williams C. (1955). "Two possible astronomical pictographs found in northern Arizona". Plateau 27 (4): 6–13.
- ^ McCarthy, D.; Breen, A. (1997). "An Evaluation of Astronomical Observations in the Irish Annals". Vistas in Astronomy 41 (1): 117–138.
