Kepler’s Supernova

SN 1604, also known as Kepler’s Supernova, Kepler’s Nova or Kepler’s Star, was a Type Ia supernova that occurred in the Milky Way. It is the most recent supernova in our galaxy to have been unquestionably observed by the naked eye. It was brighter at its peak than any other star in the night sky.

About Kepler’s Supernova in brief

Summary Kepler's SupernovaSN 1604, also known as Kepler’s Supernova, Kepler’s Nova or Kepler’s Star, was a Type Ia supernova that occurred in the Milky Way, in the constellation Ophiuchus. It is the most recent supernova in our galaxy to have been unquestionably observed by the naked eye, occurring no farther than 6 kiloparsecs from Earth. Prior to the adoption of the current naming system for supernovae, it was named for Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer who described it in De Stella Nova.

It was brighter at its peak than any other star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of −2. 5. Records of its sighting exist in European, Chinese, Korean and Arabic sources, and it was the second supernova to be observed in a generation. The remnant of Kepler’s supernova is considered to be one of the prototypical objects of its kind and is still an object of much study in astronomy.