TYCHO'S NOVA

also called B Cassiopeiae, or Nova Cassiopeiae 1572 one of the few recorded supernovae in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe first observed the new star on Nov. 11, 1572. Other European observers claimed to have noticed it as early as the preceding August, but Tycho's precise measurements showed that it was not some relatively nearby phenomenon, such as a comet, but at the distance of the stars, and that therefore real changes could occur among them. The supernova (violently exploding star) remained visible to the unaided eye until March 1574. It attained the apparent magnitude of Venus (about -4) and could be seen by day. There is no known stellar remnant but only traces of glowing nebulosity.