NASA Announces Discovery of Youngest Known Supernova in the Milky Way

This artist's impression (above left) shows a view looking down on the Milky Way galaxy. The position of the Sun is shown, as are the approximate positions and names (shown in orange) of historical supernovas. These are stellar explosions that are thought to have occurred in the last 2,000 years and may have been seen by early astronomers. The estimated position of the recently discovered G1.9+0.3 is shown in black. Although the distance to this remnant is uncertain, the angle is accurately known. Note that G1.9+0.3 is the only object that is found in the bulge of the galaxy. Credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss

A North Carolina State University researcher has discovered the youngest known supernova in our galaxy. Estimated at a mere 140 years old, this celestial whippersnapper is at least 200 years younger than the next oldest known supernova, and its discovery may pave the way to a greater understanding of exploding stars.
Supernovae are exploding stars, and act as the “engines” that drive the life cycles of galaxies. A supernova explosion disperses heavy metals, cosmic rays, and high-energy particles throughout the galaxy, aiding in the formation of new stars. In fact, a supernova explosion may have helped prod our own solar system into existence.
The brightness of supernovae can easily be obscured from optical telescopes by large amounts of interstellar gas and dust, rendering them all but invisible to astronomers. X-ray and radio telescopes, however, can detect the radio waves and high energy X-rays that supernovae emit, enabling us to “see” even highly obscured explosions.
Reynolds says that the G1.9+0.3 supernova has the largest obscuration of any known galactic supernova object.
“If not for all the interstellar ‘gunk’ between us and this object, people would have seen this supernova as a new star in the constellation Sagittarius in the years around 1870 to 1900,” Reynolds adds.
“Normally, we deal with older remnants and have to work very hard to see even tiny changes. This supernova is getting brighter, which means it's still on its way up — studying it will go a long way toward filling in gaps in our knowledge of these events and their effect on galaxies.”
Source: North Carolina State University