Supernova
Puppis A (SNR G260.4-3.4)
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 | Puppis |
| Distance | 1,300 pc (4.2 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 67.8 ly |
| Type | Shell type |
| Radio flux (1 GHz) | 130 Jy |
| Source | Green's SNR Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 8h 22m 10.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −43° 00′ 00″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 47° N. South of latitude 47° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in January, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 4,240 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 75 million years.