April 13, 2020 - Liberating Star Stuff

Liberating Star Stuff  Just over a thousand years ago, the stellar explosion known as supernova SN 1006 was observed and documented in China, Japan, Europe, and the Arab world. It was brighter than Venus—the brightest supernova ever recorded on Earth—and was visible during the day for weeks. Recent observations of the remnant of SN 1006 reveal the liberation of elements such as iron that were previously locked up inside the star. Because no material falls back into a neutron star or black hole after this type of supernova explosion, the material has been released into the cosmos for good. This is a composite image of the SN 1006 supernova remnant, which is located about 7,000 light years from Earth. The data is from X-ray (blue), optical (yellow, orange, and light blue), and radio (red) telescopes.

Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/G.Cassam-Chenaï, et al.; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/GBT/VLA/Dyer, Maddalena & Cornwell; Optical: Middlebury College/F.Winkler, NOAO/AURA/NSF/CTIO Schmidt & DSS Schmidt & DSS

Weekly Calendar

April 13 - 19, 2020

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Monday 13

Easter Monday (Canada)

Tuesday 14

Pluto 1.2° north of Moon
Jupiter 2° north of Moon
Last Qtr Moon 6:56 PM ET

1629: Christiaan Huygens born
1972: KSC and Vandenberg AFB picked as shuttle launch sites
1981: STS-1 Columbia lands
2005: Expedition 11 crew launched to International Space Station

Wednesday 15

Saturn 2° north of Moon

1999: Landsat 7 launched

Thursday 16

Mars 2° north of Moon

1867: Wilbur Wright born
1946: First captured V2 rocket launched from White Sands, NM
1965: First test-firing of Saturn V rocket first stage (S-IC)
1972: Apollo 16 launched

Friday 17

Venus 10° north of Aldebaran

1967: Surveyor 3 launched
1969: First X-24A lifting body glide test
1970: Apollo 13 crew returns to Earth
1998: STS-90 Columbia launched

Saturday 18

2014: LADEE spacecraft intentionally crashed into Moon at end of mission
2018: TESS spacecraft launched

Sunday 19

Neptune 4° north of Moon

1967: Surveyor 3 lands on Moon
1971: Salyut 1 launched, first space station.
1982: Salyut 7 launched
1993: 200th Soviet / Russian spacewalk
2001: STS-100 Endeavour launched