(Int. Gemini Obs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA via SWNS)
By Dean Murray
A British university has helped reveal the most detailed view yet of a cosmic "firework."
Warwick astronomers are part of an international team that has unveiled new observations of Pa 30, the likely remnant of a supernova documented in 1181.
In August of that year, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic astronomers recorded the sudden appearance of a bright new "guest star" in the constellation now known as Cassiopeia. It remained visible for 185 days.
The historic supernova, named SN 1181, is one of only five supernovae in the Milky Way that were observed from Earth before the invention of the telescope.
Images from the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi have revealed Pa 30, the probable remains of that explosion, in unprecedented detail.
The Gemini North telescope’s laser guide star beams up into the atmosphere, backdropped by the mesmerizing green wash of airglow. (Int. Gemini Obs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA via SWNS)
They show about 10 times more filamentary structure than previously seen.
The new observations reveal that its famous "firework" filaments are not smooth streaks, but chains of tiny knots.
The analysis of the images, led by Timothy Cunningham at the University of Warwick with international colleagues, is published in The Astrophysical Journal.
The University of Warwick statement said: "It shows that the remnant's firework-shaped ejecta is made of chains of tiny gas knots rather than smooth streaks, as previously thought. This suggests thermal or density variations in the material surrounding the star shaped the ejecta as it expanded away from the explosion."
The findings add to evidence that SN 1181 was a rare Type Iax supernova. Unlike standard Type Ia explosions, which destroy their stars, Type Iax events are lower-energy, incomplete explosions that leave a surviving star.
Pa 30 is the only known Type Iax remnant in the Milky Way.
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