List of supernovae facts for kids
This is a list of supernovae that are of historical significance. These include supernovae that were observed prior to the availability of photography, and individual events that have been the subject of a scientific paper that contributed to supernova theory.
An alternative, complete and updated list can be found in the Open Supernova Catalog.
List
In most entries, the year when the supernova was seen is part of the designation (1st column).
| Supernova designation (year) |
Constellation | Apparent magnitude |
Distance (light years) |
Type | Galaxy | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SN 185 | Centaurus | −4 (?) | 9,100 | Ia (?) | Milky Way | Surviving description sketchy; modern estimates of maximum apparent magnitude vary from +4 to −8. The remnant is probably RCW 86, some 8200 ly distant, making it comparable to SN 1572. Some researchers have suggested it was a comet, not a supernova. |
| SN 386 | Sagittarius | +1.5 | 14,700 | II | Milky Way | "suggested SN", candidate remnant could be G11.2-0.3. There are three suggestions and doubtful if SN at all or classical nova or something else. |
| SN 393 | Scorpius | –0 | 3,400 | II/Ib | Milky Way | "possible SN", could also be classical nova or something else |
| SN 1006 | Lupus | –7.5 | 7,200 | Ia | Milky Way | Widely observed on Earth; in apparent magnitude, the brightest stellar event in recorded history. |
| SN 1054 | Taurus | –6 | 6,500 | II | Milky Way | Remnant is the Crab Nebula with its pulsar (neutron star) |
| SN 1181 | Cassiopeia | 0 | 8,500 | Milky Way | "possible SN",
probably no SN but activity at WR-star |
|
| SN 1572 | Cassiopeia | –4.0 | 8,000 | Ia | Milky Way | Tycho's Nova |
| Kepler's Supernova | Ophiuchus | –3 | 14,000 | Ia | Milky Way | Kepler's Star; most recent readily visible supernova within the Milky Way |
| Cas A, ca. 1680 |
Cassiopeia | +5 | 9,000 | IIb | Milky Way | Apparently never visually conspicuous, due to interstellar dust; but the remnant, Cas A, is the brightest extrasolar radio source in the sky |
| G1.9+0.3, ca. 1868 |
Sagittarius | (visible light masked by dust) | 25,000 | Ia | Milky Way | Located near the galactic center; "Posthumously" discovered in 1985; age determined in 2008 |
| SN 1885A | Andromeda | +5.85 | 2,500,000 | Ipec | Andromeda Galaxy | First observation of an extragalactic supernova |
| SN 1895B | Centaurus | +8.0 | 10,900,000 | Ia | NGC 5253 | |
| SN 1937C | Canes Venatici | +8.4 | 13,000,000 | Ia | IC 4182 | |
| SN 1939C | Cepheus | +13 | 25,200,000 | I | Fireworks Galaxy | |
| SN 1940B | Coma Berenices | +12.8 | 38,000,000 | II-P | NGC 4725 | |
| SN 1961V | Perseus | +12.5 | 30,000,000 | II? | NGC 1058 | Potential supernova impostor |
| SN 1972E | Centaurus | +8.7 | 10,900,000 | Ia | NGC 5253 | Followed for more than a year; became the prototypical Type Ia supernova |
| SN 1983N | Hydra | +11.8 | 15,000,000 | Ib | Messier 83 | First observation of a Type Ib supernova |
| SN 1986J | Andromeda | +18.4 | 30,000,000 | IIn | NGC 891 | Bright in the radio frequency range |
| SN 1987A | Dorado | +2.9 | 160,000 | IIpec | Large Magellanic Cloud | Intense radiation reached Earth on February 23, 1987, 7:35:35 UT. Notable for archival photos of progenitor star and detection of supernova neutrinos. Most recent Local Group supernova |
| SN 1993J | Ursa Major | +10.7 | 11,000,000 | IIb | M81 | One of the brightest supernovae in the northern sky since 1954 |
| SN 1994D | Virgo | +15.2 | 50,000,000 | Ia | NGC 4526 | |
| SN 1998bw | Telescopium | ? | 140,000,000 | Ic | ESO 184-G82 | Linked to GRB 980425, which was the first time a gamma-ray burst has been linked to a supernova. |
| SN 1999eh | Lynx | +18.3 +/- 0.3 | 84,000,000 | I | NGC 2770 | First supernovae in this galaxy, where 3 more was detected later. |
| SN 2002bj | Lupus | +14.7 | 160,000,000 | IIn | NGC 1821 | AM Canum Venaticorum-type outburst. |
| SN 2003fg | Boötes | 4,000,000,000 | Ia | anonymous galaxy | Also known as the "Champagne supernova" | |
| SN 2004dj | Camelopardalis | 8,000,000 | II-P | NGC 2403 | NGC 2403 is an outlying member of the M81 Group | |
| SN 2005ap | Coma Berenices | 4,700,000,000 | II | ? | Announced in 2007 to be the brightest supernova up to that point. | |
| SN 2005gj | Cetus | 865,000,000 | Ia/II-n | ? | Notable for having characteristics of both Type Ia and Type IIn. | |
| SN 2005gl | Pisces | +16.5 | 200,000,000 | II-n | NGC 266 | Star could be found on old pictures. |
| SN 2006gy | Perseus | +15 | 240,000,000 | IIn (*) | NGC 1260 | Observed by NASA, *with a peak of over 70 days, possibly a new type. |
| SN 2007bi | Virgo | +18.3 | Ia | anonymous dwarf galaxy | Extremely bright and long-lasting, the first good observational match for the pair-instability supernova model postulated for stars of initial mass greater than 140 solar masses (even better than SN 2006gy). The precursor is estimated at 200 solar masses, similar to the first stars of the early universe. | |
| SN 2007uy | Lynx | +16.8 | 84,000,000 | Ibc | NGC 2770 | Got overshadowed by SN 2008D. |
| SN 2008D | Lynx | 88,000,000 | Ibc | NGC 2770 | First supernova to be observed while it exploded. | |
| MENeaC Abell399.3.14.0 | Aries | +28.7 | 1,000,000,000 (z=0.0613) |
Ia | anonymous red globular cluster associated with anonymous red elliptical galaxy in cluster Abell 399 | Observed in 2009. Supernova associated with a globular cluster |
| SN 2009ip | Piscis Austrinus | 66,000,000 | IIn | NGC 7259 | In 2009 classified as supernova. Redesignated as Luminous blue variable (LBV) Supernova impostor. In September 2012 classified as a young type IIn supernova. | |
| SN 2010lt | Camelopardalis | +17.0 | 240,000,000 | Ia (sub-luminous) | UGC 3378 | Discovered by 10-year-old girl, the youngest person to discover a supernova. |
| SN 2011fe | Ursa Major | +10.0 | 21,000,000 | Ia | M101 | One of the very few extragalactic supernovae visible in 50mm binoculars. |
| SN 2014J | Ursa Major | +10.5 | 11,500,000 | Ia | M82 | Closest supernova since SN 2004dj in NGC 2403. |
| ASASSN-15lh SN 2015L | Indus | +16.9 | 3,800,000,000 | Ic | APMUKS(BJ) B215839.70−615403.9 | Most luminous hypernova ever observed. |
| IPTF14hls | Ursa Major | +17.7 | 509,000,000 | unknown | SDSS J092034.44+504148.7 (possible dwarf galaxy) | Unusual supernova |
| SN 2016aps | Draco | 3,600,000,000 | SLSB-II | ? | Most luminous supernova-like event to date. | |
| SN 2018zd | Camelopardalis | +17.8 | 70,000,000 | Ia-csm | NGC 2146 | First electron capture supernova ever |
| SN 2019hgp | Boötes | +20.16 | 920,000,000 | Icn | - | First detected supernova of a Wolf-Rayet star |
| SN 2020fqv | Virgo | +19.0 | 59,400,000 | IIb | NGC 4568 | Earliest known observation of an explosion, 26 hours after |
| SN 2020tlf | Boötes | 120,000,000 | NGC 5731 | First red supergiant observed before, during and after explosion; earliest known observation, at 130 days before explosion |
See also
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List of supernovae Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.