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RCW 86: New Evidence Links Stellar Remains to Oldest Recorded Supernova
The combined image from the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories of
RCW 86 shows the expanding ring of debris that was created after a massive star in the Milky Way collapsed onto itself and exploded. Both the Chandra and XMM images show low energy X-rays in red, medium energies in green and high energies in blue. The Chandra observations focused on the northeast (left-hand) side of RCW 86, and show that X-ray radiation is produced both by high-energy electrons accelerated in a magnetic field (blue) as well as heat from the blast itself (red).
Properties of the shell in the Chandra image, along with the remnant's size and a basic understanding of how supernovas expand, were used to help determine the age of RCW 86. The new data revealed that RCW 86 was created by a star that exploded about 2,000 years ago. This age matches observations of a new bright star by Chinese astronomers in 185 A.D. (and possibly Romans as well) and may be the oldest known recordings of a supernova. Supernova explosions in galaxies like ours are rare, and none have been recorded in hundreds of years.
| Fast Facts for RCW 86 |
| Credit |
Chandra: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Utrecht/J.Vink et al. XMM-Newton: ESA/Univ. of Utrecht/J.Vink et al. |
| Scale |
Chandra field of view is 38 arcmin across |
| Category |
Supernovas & Supernova Remnants |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 14h 45m 02.30s | Dec -62º 20' 32.00" |
| Constellation |
Circinus |
| Observation Dates |
June 15, 2004
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| Observation Time |
20 hours |
| Obs. ID |
4611
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| Color Code |
Energy (Red: 0.5-1 keV; Green: 1-1.95 keV; Blue: 1.95-6.6 keV) |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Also Known As | G315.4-2.1 |
| Distance Estimate |
About 8,200 light years |
| Release Date |
September 18, 2006 |
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