SN 1895B

Not to be confused with the star HD 119921 with a Bayer designation of "z Centauri".
SN 1895B
Event typeSupernova, nova, variable star, suspected variable Edit this on Wikidata
Type Ia[1]
DateDecember 12, 1895[2]
ConstellationCentaurus
Right ascension13h 39m 57.3s[1]
Declination−31° 38′ 06″[1]
EpochJ2000.0
Distance10.3 Mly (3.15 Mpc)[3]
HostNGC 5253[1]
Peak apparent magnitude+8.49±0.03[4]
Other designationsZ Cen, CD−31 10536, HD 118843, NOVA Cen 1895[5]
Preceded bySN 1885A
Followed bySN 1937C
[edit on Wikidata]

SN 1895B was a supernova event in the irregular dwarf galaxy NGC 5253, positioned 16″ east and 23″ north of the galactic center.[1] It is among the closest known extragalactic supernova events.[4] The supernova was discovered by Williamina Fleming on December 12, 1895 after noticing an unusual spectrum on a photographic plate taken July 18, 1895, and was initially given the variable star designation Z Centauri.[2][6] The light curve is consistent with an event that began ~15 days before the discovery plate was taken,[4] and this indicates the supernova reached a peak visual magnitude of up to 8.49±0.03.[2]

A light curve for Z Centauri, adapted from Leibundgut et al. (1991)[7]

After the light faded, the remnant has remained undetected at any wavelength,[4] including X-ray and radio.[2] This suggests the expanding remnant is meeting a low density of surrounding interstellar material, which would be consistent with certain double white dwarf merger scenarios. The remnant is expected to reach peak radio emission around the year 2195, and it may become detectable at that time.[4]

  1. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Barbon_et_al_2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Schaefer1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Freedman_et_al_2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Cendes_et_al_2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference SIMBAD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference iauc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Leibundgut was invoked but never defined (see the help page).