Who discovered supernovae?

Answer 1

From 1400 BC to AD 1600, China recorded around 90 novas. Among them the supernova SN1054 [See Link] was the first supernova confirmed by modern radio astronomers. A British astronomer in 1731, discovered an oblong cloud"" over China. After observation, calculation and analysis by several astronomers, it was proved that the crab shaped nebula found in this position was the ruins of a supernova that had shot out of a dense cluster some 900 years previously. i.e. the year of 1054. This discovery was one of the most significant astronomical findings in the 1960s.

Answer 2

SN 185 [See Link] was a supernova which appeared in the year 185.

It's remnants were observed by Chinese astronomers and could have been recorded in Roman literature

Answer 3

All supernovas known are classified as "SN" for supernova "YYYY" for year and "Z" for the number discovered in "YYYY".

So SN1987A is a supernova discovered in 1987 and was the first one discovered that year.

So any supernova discovery can be deduced from it's classification.

See related link for a list of major supernova.

Answer 4

Fritz Zwicky, Walter Baade, and Rudolph Minkowski developed the theories about what supernovae are in the thirties. These theories were eventually confirmed by various techniques.

Answer 5

Supernovae were discovered by Chinese astronomers in 185 AD. The first recorded observation was documented in the Chinese Book of the Later Han.