Watch a 450-year-old supernova continue to bloom
The type Ia supernova lit up the skies in 1572.
Back in 1572, a white dwarf's explosion shone brightly on the sky. It was visible to the naked eye, and astronomers like Tycho Brahe were able to monitor the event despite not having the equipment we do today. We might have missed the chance to see what's now known as Tycho's supernova, but thanks to Chandra X-ray observatory's data, we can see its remnant continue to bloom almost 450 years later. A group of astronomers compiled Chandra's observations from the year 2000 to 2015 to create a video showing its ongoing expansion.
It's clear from the images that the puffy structure, which is located 10,000 light years away, is still growing from our planet's point of view. The team also noticed that the circle's rightmost and lower-right parts grow twice as fast as its left side. They believe that's caused by the differences in the density of the gas enveloping the remnant. The astronomers published a paper detailing their findings, but you can watch and listen to the most important bits in the film below, which also features decades of radio wave observations.
