HYBRID – General Meeting – November 2023

TAAA’s next general member meeting will be held on Friday, November 3, 2023. The Main Presentation will start at 6:30 P.M. This will be a hybrid meeting (both in person and on social media). TAAA members will receive a Zoom link should they wish to attend remotely. The public may attend in person or public streaming is available at: https://www.facebook.com/TucsonAstronomy/. It will be posted to YouTube afterwards.

Presentation:  The Chinese/Japanese Supernova of 1181 AD Is Weird!

In 1181 A.D., Chinese and Japanese observers reported a bright Guest Star in the constellation Cassiopeia that was unmoving and visible for 185 days. What was it? If confirmed as a supernova, it would be the fifth historical supernova to be known. In 2013, amateur astronomer Dana Patchick discovered a unique nebula surrounding a unique star, named Pa30, that was possibly the supernova remnant (SNR) of the Supernova (SN) 1181. Dr. Bradley Schaefer will talk about his research, using historical evidence, and current astronomical tools to connect SN1181 and PA30.

Bio: Dr. Bradley Schaefer received his Ph.D in 1983 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at Louisiana State University. His wide range of interests include many areas of astrophysics, as well as many aspects of astronomical events in history (e.g. the Crucifixion and the Star of Bethlehem) and in literature. Dr. Schaefer was a member of the Supernova Cosmology Project which led to the discovery of Dark Energy. The paper for the project won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for its leader, Saul Perlmutter. And, as one of the prize-winning paper’s co-authors, Dr. Schaefer received a share of the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize, and the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

Photo: Is nebula PA30 a remnant of SN 1181?
Credit: Astronomer Ron Fessen (observing at MDM on Kitt Peak)