Supernova
MSH 11-61A (SNR G290.1-0.8)
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. 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 | Carina |
| Distance | 3,620 pc (11.8 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 56.1 ly |
| Type | Shell type |
| Radio flux (1 GHz) | 42 Jy |
| Source | Green's SNR Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 03m 05.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −60° 55′ 59″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 29° N. South of latitude 29° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 12 thousand years ago. At that time the first farming villages were being founded; there was no writing yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 209 million years.