Resurrecting History: the Unexpected Revival of Supernova 1181
upstart writes:
For the first time, a mysterious remnant from a rare type of supernova recorded in 1181 has been explained. Two white dwarf stars collided, creating a temporary "guest star," now labeled supernova (SN) 1181, which was recorded in historical documents in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. However, after the star dimmed, its location and structure remained a mystery until a team pinpointed its location in 2021.
Now, through computer modeling and observational analysis, researchers have recreated the structure of the remnant white dwarf, a rare occurrence, explaining its double shock formation. They also discovered that high-speed stellar winds may have started blowing from its surface within just the past 20-30 years. This finding improves our understanding of the diversity of supernova explosions, and highlights the benefits of interdisciplinary research, combining history with modern astronomy to enable new discoveries about our galaxy.
[...] The remnant of this guest star, labeled supernova remnant (SNR) 1181, was found to have been created when two extremely dense, Earth-sized stars, called white dwarfs, collided. This created a rare type of supernova, called a Type Iax supernova, which left behind a single, bright and fast-rotating white dwarf. Aided by observations on its position noted in the historical document, modern astrophysicists finally pinpointed its location in 2021 in a nebula towards the constellation Cassiopeia.
Due to its rare nature and location within our galaxy, SNR 1181 has been the subject of much observational research. This suggested that SNR 1181 is made up of two shock regions, an outer region and an inner one. In this new study, the research group analyzed the latest X-ray data to construct a theoretical computer model to explain these observations, and which has recreated the previously unexplained structure of this supernova remnant.
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