Supernova
SN 1006 (SNR G327.6+14.6)
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 | Centaurus |
| Distance | 2,200 pc (7.2 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 62.6 ly |
| Type | Shell type |
| Radio flux (1 GHz) | 19 Jy |
| Source | Green's SNR Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 15h 02m 50.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −41° 55′ 59″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 48° N. South of latitude 48° 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 7,176 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 127 million years.