SN 1181
Supernova in the constellation Cassiopeia
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Key Takeaways
- First observed between August 4 and August 6, 1181, Chinese and Japanese astronomers recorded the supernova now known as SN 1181 in eight separate texts.
- Stephenson first recognized that the 1181 AD "guest star" must be a supernova, because such a bright transient that lasts for 185 days and does not move in the sky can only be a galactic supernova.
- It was the 30th nebula discovered by his searches, and as a result it is designated Pa 30.
- The nebula was originally catalogued as IRAS 00500+6713) and its central white dwarf is designated as WD J005311 .
- In 2019, optical spectroscopy of the central star (designated as WS35) revealed a very hot star with an intense stellar wind expanding at a very high velocity of 16,000 km/s and a composition mainly of carbon and oxygen (with no hydrogen or helium).
First observed between August 4 and August 6, 1181, Chinese and Japanese astronomers recorded the supernova now known as SN 1181 in eight separate texts. One of only five supernovae in the Milky Way confidently identified in pre-telescopic records, it appeared in the constellation Cassiopeia and was visible and motionless against the fixed stars for 185 days. F. R. Stephenson first recognized that the 1181 AD "guest star" must be a supernova, because such a bright transient that lasts for 185 days and does not move in the sky can only be a galactic supernova.
IRAS 00500+6713 (Pa 30)
Pa 30 was discovered in 2013 by American amateur astronomer Dana Patchick while searching for planetary nebulae in WISE infrared data. It was the 30th nebula discovered by his searches, and as a result it is designated Pa 30. Pa 30 appeared as a nearly round nebula roughly 171x156 arc-seconds in size, with an extremely blue central star. The nebula was originally catalogued as IRAS 00500+6713) and its central white dwarf is designated as WD J005311. The shell is bright in the infrared and X-rays, but very faint in the optical, at first visible only by light in the [O III] band.
In 2019, optical spectroscopy of the central star (designated as WS35) revealed a very hot star with an intense stellar wind expanding at a very high velocity of 16,000 km/s and a composition mainly of carbon and oxygen (with no hydrogen or helium). The central star was explained as being a supermassive magnetic white dwarf resulting from the merger of two lower mass white dwarfs while the nebula was attributed to the episode of slow matter outflow during the merger.
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