Supernova
RCW 103 (SNR G332.4-0.4)
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. 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 | Norma |
| Distance | 4,650 pc (15.2 thousand ly) · estimated |
| Diameter | 44.1 ly |
| Type | Shell type |
| Radio flux (1 GHz) | 28 Jy |
| Source | Green's SNR Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 16h 17m 33.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −51° 01′ 59″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 39° N. South of latitude 39° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in May, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 15 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 269 million years.