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Mar 1, 2023

NASA sheds light on a massive supernova dating back to Middle Ages

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics

The supernova is so old that it is believed to have been described in a passage of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

A group of scientists has shed new light on a star that exploded in a supernova more than 450 years ago, blasting particles out into space at close to the speed of light.

Now, astronomers have used NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry to study the incredibly long-lasting aftereffects of the supernova called Tycho.


NASA/ASI/MSFC/INAF/R. Ferrazzoli, et al.

The Tycho supernova blast released as much energy as the Sun would emit over ten billion years, NASA pointed out in a statement. The blast was visible to many humans on Earth way back in 1572.

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