Media Telecon:

DISCOVERY OF MOST RECENT SUPERNOVA IN OUR GALAXY
May 14, 2008 (1 p.m. EDT)

Scientists have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NRAO's Very Large Array to discover the most recent supernova explosion in our Galaxy, as measured in Earth's time frame.

-Press Release

Live audio of the teleconference will be streamed online at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio
Instant replays are generally available one hour after a call ends, and will be through MAY-21-08 10:59 PM (CT)
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A video file about the discovery will air on NASA Television on May 14 at noon and 1pm (check the NASA TV schedule for additional times). NASA TV is carried on an MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. NASA TV is available in Alaska and Hawaii on AMC-7 at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal polarization.

Panelists:

Dr. Stephen Reynolds, North Carolina State University
Dr. Dave Green, University of Cambridge
Dr. Robert Kirshner, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Bios Page

Graphics:

1985 Radio & 2007 X-ray
Figure 1.1985 VLA and 2007 Chandra images of the supernova remnant G1.9+0.3, with a circle for size comparison.

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image to blink

Figure 1. (Cont'd). Blink between 1985 VLA and 2007 Chandra images (move cursor over image).

Galactic Plane
Figure 2. Optical image of the plane of the Milky Way, with G1.9+0.3 labeled.

radio 85&08
Figure 3.1985 VLA (radio) and 2008 VLA (X-ray) images of the supernova remnant G1.9+0.3.

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image to blink

Figure 3. (cont'd). Blink between 1985 and 2008 VLA images (move cursor over image).

Historic SNRs
Figure 4. Chandra images of historical supernova remnants in the Milky Way.

Milky Way
Figure 5. An artist's impression of the Milky Way with positions of historial supernovas and G1.9+0.3.

Supplementary Graphics

Chandra X-ray
Figure 6. A composite image of G1.9+0.3 with Chandra X-ray (2007, orange); VLA Radio (1985, blue)

SN Explosion Illustration
Figure 7. An artist's close-up view of the supernova that caused G1.9+0.3.

Animation elements
Figure 8. An animation showing a flight into the Milky Way's center and a supernova explosion there.
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2MASS
Figure 9. A movie showing a large 2MASS image, with zooms to the Galactic Center and G1.9+0.3.
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X-Ray Mosaic
Figure 10. A Chandra X-ray mosaic of the Milky Way's plane (galaxy center in middle; G1.9+0.3 is outside this two degree wide field).
X-Ray Mosaic
Figure 11.This extraordinarily deep Chandra image shows Cassiopeia A, the previous record holder for the youngest Galactic supernova remnant.

X-Ray Mosaic
Figure 12. Landscape photo of the Very Large Array antenna with the moon.

X-Ray Mosaic
Figure 13. Chandra X-ray Observatory - Spacecraft Illustration with Galactic Center Background.

Additional Information

Paper Title:THE YOUNGEST GALACTIC SUPERNOVA REMNANT: G1.9+0.3 (pdf format)

Full Author List: Stephen P. Reynolds(Department of Physics, North Carolina State University), Kazimierz J. Borkowski (Department of Physics, North Carolina State University), David A. Green (Cavendish Laboratory; Cambridge, UK), Una Hwang (NASA/GSFC), Ilana Harrus (NASA/GSFC) & Robert Petre (NASA/GSFC).

VLA radio confirmation paper:
The radio expansion and brightening of the very young supernova remnant G1.9+0.3 (pdf format), David A. Green et al. 2008, MNRAS Letters

Scientist Contact Information:
Steve Reynolds: reynolds@ncsu.edu, 919-515-7751
Dave Green: dag@mrao.cam.ac.uk, +44 1223 337305
Bob Kirshner: rkirshner@cfa.harvard.edu, 617-495-7519

Links:
Image captions
Animation captions
Image release
Press release
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