Ancient supernova mystery solved

Now the supernova recorded by Tycho Brahe has been glimpsed again, by Max Planck Institute scientists.

They used telescopes in Hawaii and Spain to capture faint light echoes of the original explosion, reflected by interstellar dust.

This "fossil imprint" of Tycho's famous supernova is reported in Nature.

The study will help solve a 400-year-old mystery over the nature of the celestial event which captivated observers across the globe.

In early November 1572, the brilliant "new star" appeared in the constellation Cassiopiea, and was even visible during daylight.

Among those who marvelled was the great Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who recorded its precise position in his book, "Stella Nova".

His measurements revealed the "new star" was located far beyond the Moon – contradicting the Aristotelian tradition that such stars were unchangeable – which had dominated western thinking for nearly 2000 years.

This set the stage for the work of Kepler, Galileo, Newton and others. …