Ancient supernova mystery solved

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In 1572, a "new star" appeared in the sky which stunned astronomers and exploded ancient theories of the universe.

Now the supernova recorded by Tycho Brahe has been glimpsed again, by Max Planck Institute scientists.

They used telescopes in Hawaii and Spain to capture faint light echoes of the original explosion, reflected by interstellar dust.

This "fossil imprint" of Tycho's famous supernova is reported in Nature.

The study will help solve a 400-year-old mystery over the nature of the celestial event which captivated observers across the globe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7762939.stm