This composite image of supernova SN 1181 showcases the full extent of the nebula in X-rays (blue contours), with optical and element-specific signatures shown in red and yellow light, respectively. (Credit: X-ray: (Chandra) NASA/CXC/U. Manitoba/C. Treyturik, (XMM-Newton) ESA/C. Treyturik; Optical: (Pan-STARRS) NOIRLab/MDM/Dartmouth/R. Fesen; Infrared: (WISE) NASA/JPL/Caltech/; Processing: Univ. of Manitoba/Gilles Ferrand and Jayanne English)
In the year 1181, a “guest star” was recorded in the constellation of Cassiopeia. Its modern supernova remnant is weirder than we imagined.
Across the cosmos, only two main pathways exist for making a supernova.
Many of the cataclysms that occur in space are typical supernovae: either core-collapse from a massive progenitor star or type Ia from an exploding white dwarf. The most massive stars of all have hundreds of times the mass of the Sun and live just 1 or 2 million years, total, before running out of fuel and dying in such a cataclysm. (Credit: NASA Ames, STScI/G. Bacon)
This image of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant shows the aftermath of a type II, core-collapse supernova that occurred more than 350 years ago. The supernova remnant glows in a variety of electromagnetic wavelengths, including in various X-ray and infrared bands, with the latter shown here. The color-coding reveals the diversity of elemental signatures found within. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Its core collapses and implodes, leaving a neutron star or black hole remnant.
The anatomy of a very massive star throughout its life, culminating in a Type II (core-collapse) Supernova when the core runs out of nuclear fuel. The final stage of fusion is typically silicon-burning, producing iron and iron-like elements in the core for only a brief while before a supernova ensues. The most massive core-collapse supernovae typically result in the creation of black holes, while the less massive ones create only neutron stars. (Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller/NSF)
This image shows the remnants of a type Ia supernova. The second most common type of supernova in the Universe behind core-collapse supernovae, we have now observed 1550 of these events through modern telescopes, enabling us to understand the history and composition of our Universe as never before. However, only a small percentage of all the stars that have ever formed have completed their life cycles, dying and resulting in stellar remnants such as white dwarfs, which are needed to create a type Ia supernova event. (Credit: NASA/CXC/U.Texas)
