NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has discovered the Milky Way’s most recent supernova
Scientists using a combination of radio and X-rays have found the most recent supernova remnant observed in our galaxy, located about 26,000 light-years from here. It’s the youngest, most energetic supernova we know and could shed light on just exactly how the stardust we’re made of — heavier elements and all — gets created. The finding also lends some support to astronomers’ calculations that there should be about three supernovae in our galaxy per century, although they still need to find dozens more similar supernova remnants to confirm their suspicions.
Full Article: Wired
This is a fairly significant discovery by the folks at NASA. It is a bit confusing in the terminology because this supernova exploded 26,140 years ago, but hit Earth 140 years ago, so that explains the discrepancy. The Chandra X-ray Observatory has been finding an incredible amount of data from thousands of years in the past as well as evidence of the Big Bang itself, so it is nice to see it find things within our own galaxy and learn more about it. The press conference is a bit comical but on the nerdy side if you want to take a look at it on the Wired website.