In 1938, Walter Baade became the first astronomer to identify a nebula as a supernova remnant when he suggested that the Crab Nebula was the remains of SN 1054.

When was the supernova discovered?

February 1987: Discovery of Supernova 1987A.

How many supernova have been discovered?

Astronomers David Clark and Richard Stephenson have scoured records from around the world to find more than 20 reports of the 1006 supernova (SN 1006) (Figure 1). This has allowed them to determine with some accuracy where in the sky the explosion occurred.