Kepler's Supernova: The Last Visible Star Explosion in Our Galaxy
Johannes Kepler spotted a brilliant new star in Ophiuchus, brighter than Jupiter, visible in daylight. He tracked it for a year as it faded. He didn't know what it was. It was a supernova, a star exploding 20,000 light-years away. It's the last supernova observed in the Milky Way. We're overdue for another. Kepler published his observations in a book. The star is still called Kepler's Supernova. He died broke.
October 17, 1604
422 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on October 17
Cyrus the Great entered Babylon without a battle. The city's priests had turned against their own king. Cyrus issued a decree allowing exiled peoples to return …
Ciro II el Grande rey de Persia marcha a Babilonia, liberando a los judíos de casi 70 años de exilio.
Ricimer defeated the Roman emperor Avitus near Piacenza with help from Majorian. Avitus had ruled for just 14 months. He fled to a church, was made a bishop aga…
Wu Zetian declared herself emperor of China on October 16th, 690, the only woman to ever claim that title outright. She'd been a concubine, then empress consort…
A tornado tore through London on October 17th, 1091, destroying 600 houses and killing two people. Medieval chroniclers said it lifted the roof off a church and…
bataille de Forbie avec une victoire des Ayyoubides sur les croisés.
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