Supernova
Kepler (SN 1604) (SNR G4.5+6.8)
Supernova remnant
The shock wave of a supernova expanding at thousands of kilometres per second: it sweeps up and heats the interstellar gas and shines in radio waves.
| Type | Supernova |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Ophiuchus |
| Distance | 5,100 pc (16.6 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 14.5 ly |
| Type | Shell type |
| Radio flux (1 GHz) | 19 Jy |
| Source | Green's SNR Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 30m 42.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −21° 28′ 59″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 69° N. South of latitude 69° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 17 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 295 million years.