Astronomers Solve 900-Year-Old Cosmic Mystery Surrounding Famous Chinese Supernova of 1181AD - SciTechDaily

September 18, 2021.

(a) WISE false color image of Pa 30 where blue and green stand for 11 μm emission, and red for 22 μm.

(b) In this false color image, where green stands for WISE 11 μm (as in the left panel) and red for WISE 22 μm (adjusted to show extended emission), the emission from the central star is highlighted in blue from the GALEX near-UV data, while the XMM-Newton contours (10 levels, linear scale) show that the majority of the X-ray emission originates from the core of the nebula.

New research published today (September 15, 2021) says that a faint, fast expanding cloud (or nebula), called Pa30, surrounding one of the hottest stars in the Milky Way, known as Parker’s Star, fits the profile, location, and age of the historic supernova.

Parker’s Star fits the position well.

Such events are thought to lead to a rare and relatively faint type of supernova, called a ‘Type Iax supernova’.

The fact that SN1181 was faint but faded very slowly fits this type.

It is the only such event where we can study both the remnant nebula and the merged star, and also have a description of the explosion itself.”.

Prof.  Zijlstra said: “Combining all this information such as the age, location, event brightness and historically recorded 185-day duration, indicates that Parker’s star and Pa30 are the counterparts of SN 1181.

This is the only Type Iax supernova where detailed studies of the remnant star and nebula are possible.

Reference: “The Remnant and Origin of the Historical Supernova 1181 AD” by Andreas Ritter, Quentin A.

Guerrero and Pascal Le Du, 15 September 2021, The Astrophysical Journal.

September 15, 2021

September 15, 2021

September 15, 2021