SN 1572
Sometimes called Tycho’s Star this was a Super Nova, this is
a star that destroys itself in a massive explosion. It was not discovered by
Tycho but he gave the most accurate series of observations on the star, which
is why the star bears his name. This
supernova would become the most brilliant object in the sky during the last 500
years.
He first saw the star on November 11th 1572. For
several weeks it outshone every star in the night sky. It could even be seen in
daylight, when the Sun was low in the sky. It was about -4.5 making slightly
brighter than Venus.
At this time of course people believed that the heavens
never changed so to see a new star suddenly appear certainly caused a massive
amount of interest.
The star was visible
to the naked eye (there were no telescopes at this point) for about 16 months
fading from view in March 1574.
Tycho Brahe 1546-1601 was the last of the great pre telescopic
astronomers.
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