Tycho Supernova Remnant

TYCHO'S SUPERNOVA REMNANTAstronomers now know that Tycho's new star was not new at all. Rather it signaled the death of a star in a supernova, an explosion so bright that it can outshine the light from an entire galaxy. This particular supernova was a Type Ia, which occurs when a white dwarf star pulls material from, or merges with, a nearby companion star until a violent explosion is triggered. The white dwarf star is obliterated, sending its debris hurtling into space (see illustration below) In the era of modern telescopes, the Tycho supernova remnant has been observed in many wavelengths and over many years. As with many supernova remnants, the Tycho supernova remnant glows brightly in X-ray light because shock waves — similar to sonic booms from supersonic aircraft — generated by the stellar explosion heat the stellar debris up to millions of degrees.More than four centuries after Brahe’s discovery, astronomers using Chandra have found that the supersonic expansion (millions of mi