July 24, 2017 - Old Supernovae Don’t Die

Old Supernovae Don’t Die NGC 6946 is a medium-sized, face-on spiral galaxy about 22 million light years away from Earth, straddling the border between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. During the past century, at least eight supernovae have been observed exploding in the arms of this galaxy, giving credence to NGC 6946’s nickname of the “Fireworks Galaxy.” NGC 6946 spans about 32,000 light-years from edge to edge. Observations by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (shown in purple) have revealed the locations of three of the oldest supernovae ever detected by their X-ray radiation. This composite image, released in 2013 as part of the Chandra Data Archive, also includes optical data from the Gemini Observatory (appearing in red, yellow, and blue).

Image credit: X-ray: NASA / CXC / MSSL / R.Soria et al; Optical: AURA / Gemini Observatory

Weekly Calendar

July 24-30, 2017

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

Monday 24

1950: First rocket launched from Cape Canaveral
1969: Apollo 11 crew returns to Earth
1975: Apollo-Soyuz crew returns to Earth, last US splashdown
2009: Canaries Great Telescope dedicated

Tuesday 25

Regulus 0.07° south of Moon
Mercury 0.9° south of Moon

1978: Viking 2 orbiter ceases operation
1984: Svetlana Savitskaya becomes first woman to walk in space
2000: Zvezda Service Module docks with International Space Station

Wednesday 26

Mercury 1.1° south of Regulus
Mars in conjunction with Sun

1958: Explorer IV launched
1971: Apollo 15 launched, fourth lunar landing mission, first mission to use lunar rover
2005: STS-114 Discovery launched