A supernova is an event in which a star destroys itself in an explosion which can briefly become as luminous as an entire galaxy. This list of supernovas of historical significance includes events that were observed prior to the development of photography, and individual events before 2000 that have been the subject of a scientific paper that contributed to supernova theory.

List of supernovae before 2000 For supernovae since 2000 see List of supernovae.

In most entries, the year when the supernova was seen is part of the designation (1st column). Supernova designation (year) Constellation Observations Apparentmagnitude Distance(light years) TypeGalaxyNotes SN 185 Centaurus 7 December 185 −4 (?)Modern estimates vary widely; see SN 185 for more detail. 9,100 Ia (?)Milky Way Surviving description sketchy; modern estimates of maximum apparent magnitude vary from +4 to −8. The remnant is probably RCW 86, some 8200 ly distant,"New evidence links stellar remains to oldest recorded supernova" Chandra X-ray Observatory, released 2006-09-18, revised 2009-02-20, retrieved 2010-02-26. making it comparable to SN 1572. Some researchers have suggested it was a comet, not a supernova. SN 386 Sagittarius April/May 386 +1.5 14,700 IIMilky Way "suggested SN", candidate remnant could be G11.2-0.3. There are three suggestions and doubtful if SN at all or classical nova or something else. SN 393 Scorpius 27 February − 28 March - 22 October − 19 November 393 –0 3,400 II/IbMilky Way "possible SN", could also be classical nova or something else SN 1006 Lupus 17 April 1006 - 1 May 1006 –7.5 7,200 IaMilky Way Widely observed on Earth; in apparent magnitude, the brightest stellar event in recorded history. SN 1054 Taurus –6SEDS, Supernova 1055 – Creation of the Crab Nebula 6,500 IIMilky Way Remnant is the Crab Nebula with its pulsar (neutron star) SN 1181 Cassiopeia 4 August 1181 - 6 August 1181 0 7,100 sub-luminous Type Iax supernova Milky Way Remnant is Pa 31 with its hot stellar remnant SN 1572 Cassiopeia November 1572 –4.0 8,000 IaMilky Way Tycho's Nova SN 1604 Ophiuchus 8–9 October 1604 –3 14,000 IaMilky Way Kepler's Supernova; most recent readily visible supernova within the Milky Way Cas A Cassiopeia 1680 +5 9,000 IIbMilky Way Apparently never visually conspicuous, due to interstellar dust; but the remnant, Cas A, is the brightest extrasolar radio source in the sky G1.9+0.3 Sagittarius 1868 (visible light masked by dust) 25,000 Ia Milky Way Located near the Galactic Center; "Posthumously" discovered in 1985; age determined in 2008 SN 1885A Andromeda 20 August 1885 +5.85 2,500,000 IpecAndromeda Galaxy First observation of an extragalactic supernova SN 1895B Centaurus 12 December 1895 +8.0 10,900,000 IaNGC 5253   SN 1909A Ursa Major January 1909 +12.1 21,000,000 Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) SN 1937C Canes Venatici 24 August 1937 +8.4 13,000,000 IaIC 4182   SN 1939C Cepheus 17 July 1939 +13.0 25,200,000 INGC 6946 (Fireworks Galaxy)   SN 1940B Coma Berenices 5 May 1940 +12.8 38,000,000 II-P NGC 4725   SN 1951H Ursa Major 1 September 1951 +17.5 21,000,000 Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) SN 1961V Perseus 11 July 1961 +12.5 30,000,000 II? NGC 1058 Potential supernova impostor SN 1970G Ursa Major 30 July 1970 +12.1 21,000,000 II Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) Stoyan, Ronald Atlas of the Messier Objects, Cambridge University Press 2008 page 329 SN 1972E Centaurus 13 May 1972 +8.7 10,900,000 Ia NGC 5253 Followed for more than a year; became the prototypical Type Ia supernova SN 1983N Hydra 3 July 1983 +11.8 15,000,000 Ib Messier 83 First observation of a Type Ib supernova SN 1986J Andromeda 21 August 1986 +18.4 30,000,000 IIn NGC 891 Bright in the radio frequency range SN 1987A Dorado 1987 +2.9 160,000 IIpec Large Magellanic Cloud Intense radiation reached Earth on February 23, 1987, 7:35:35 UT. Notable for archival photos of progenitor star and detection of supernova neutrinos. Most recent Local Group supernova SN 1993J Ursa Major 28 March 1993 +10.7 11,000,000 IIb M81 One of the brightest supernovae in the northern sky since 1954 SN 1994D Virgo 7 March 1994 +15.2 50,000,000 Ia NGC 4526 SN 1998bw Telescopium 26 April 1998 ? 140,000,000 Ic ESO 184-G82 Linked to GRB 980425, which was the first time a gamma-ray burst has been linked to a supernova. SN 1999eh Lynx 12 October 1999 +18.3 +/- 0.3 84,000,000 I NGC 2770 First supernovae in this galaxy, where 3 more were detected later.

See also Lists of astronomical objects List of supernovae List of most distant supernovae List of supernova candidates List of supernova remnants

References

External links The Open Cataclysmic Variable Catalog IAU Supernovae on the Transient Name Server (TNS) Supernovae through 2015 at IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT). WISeREP – The Weizmann Interactive Supernova data Repository