Supernova
Kes 17 (SNR G304.6+0.1)
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. The distance is estimated from the radio surface-brightness–diameter (Σ–D) relation and may be off by a factor of two.
| Type | Supernova |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Distance | 6,440 pc (21.0 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 48.9 ly |
| Type | Shell type |
| Radio flux (1 GHz) | 14 Jy |
| Source | Green's SNR Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 13h 05m 59.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −62° 42′ 00″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 27° N. South of latitude 27° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 21 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 373 million years.