1868 Supernova -Youngest in the Milky Way- Discovered

Astronomers have found the remains of the youngest supernova, or exploded star, in the Milky Way Galaxy. The supernova occurred in 1868, but was hidden behind a thick veil of gas and dust. Using the Very Large Array (VLA) and NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, which could peer through the veil, astronomers have now found “G1.9+0.3,” the first example of what scientists believe are a “missing population” of young supernova remnants.

Radio images of the newly identified young galactic supernova remnant were made using data observed with the Very Large Array (run by the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory).

This is NASA’s long awaited announcement that astronomers have been searching for over 50 years for this type of young supernova.From observing supernovae in other galaxies, astronomers estimate that about three such stellar explosions should occur in our Milky Way every century.

The most recent one known until now occurred around 1680, creating the remnant called Cassiopeia A. The newly-discovered object is the remnant of an explosion only about 140 years ago.

Posted by Casey Kazan.