1604 supernova, the last seen with the naked eye inside our own galaxy.
Supernova: A star's death explosion, briefly outshining its whole galaxy. Every kind of thing there is →
Look in the constellation Ophiuchus.
Reachable from both hemispheres (historic event; remnant now needs professional instruments).
The Planetarium works out where it actually is from your own place and the date — including whether it is above the horizon at all tonight.
Where one exploded, a telescope shows the glowing wreck it left behind.
Honest, not glamorous — why the pictures here are drawn.
On the 100-meter-track scale model of the Milky Way, Kepler's Supernova would be about 20 meters from the Sun. Light takes 20 thousand years to get here from Kepler's Supernova, so what you are looking at is Kepler's Supernova as it was 20 thousand years ago.
| Distance from us | ~20,000 light-years (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Found in | 1604 |
Nobody flew a tape measure out there. Every number on this page was worked out from the ground:
Tycho's SupernovasupernovaNaked eyeSN 1987AsupernovaNaked eye
The Milky Wayspiral galaxyNaked eyeProxima CentauristarWith effortAlpha Centauri A & Bbinary star systemNaked eyeSiriusstarNaked eyeClear tonight? The Planetarium will show you what is worth a look. Then just go out.