SN 1006 – Supernova Remnant in the Constellation Lupus
SN 1006 is the remnant of a supernova that was observed in AD 1006 from the Mediterranean region to China and is considered one of the brightest such events ever documented. The remnant is located in the constellation Lupus and, at a distance of about 7,100 light-years, is comparatively close to Earth. Astrophysically, it is the result of a Type Ia supernova, triggered by the explosion of a white dwarf in a binary star system.
The explosion ejected matter into the surrounding interstellar medium at velocities of several thousand kilometers per second.
The supernova remnant is extremely faint. The image shown here focuses on the brightest filament of SN 1006 along the northwestern edge of the expanding shell. In a broadband RGB image, this structure remains nearly invisible.
Only through long exposure times in H-alpha light does the shock front emerge clearly, as the accompanying animation impressively demonstrates. Across the rest of the field of view, very faint, extended H-alpha emission regions are visible. They trace diffuse interstellar gas as well as fainter portions of the expanding supernova shell toward the left and lower edges of the image.
Motions of objects beyond our Solar System are, because of the vast distances involved, generally detectable only over long periods of time, even with modern amateur equipment. However, the current expansion velocity of the shock front of about 2,900 km per second leads to a measurable positional shift over just a few decades. The second animation presents a comparison of a section of the shock front between an image taken in 1987 (Long, Blair and van den Bergh, The Astrophysical Journal, 333:749-753,1988) and this image from 2025. The displacement of the front becomes clearly visible. Who can spot the fast-moving star within this field that also exhibits a distinctly measurable proper motion?
| Date: | 20.06.-28.06.2025 |
| Optics: | Planewave CDK 14 with Televue 0.8x reducer |
| Aperture: | 350 mm |
| Focal Length: | 2050 mm |
| Camera: | QHY268M |
| Exposure: | R:G:B 32:29:32 x 600 s Hα 149 x 600 s |
| Location: | Gemsbock Observatory, Rooisand Desert Ranch, Namibia |
| Processing: | PixInsight, Photoshop |
| Diameter: | 40 light years (length of the filament) |
| Distance: | 7,100 light years |
