Astronomers map 'string of pearls' supernova remnant Pa 30 and its zombie star

Gemini North observations reveal that the Pa 30 supernova remnant, linked to a 1181 eruption, is made of uniform knots each about ten Neptune orbits wide. The zombie star at its center barely moved, suggesting a nearly symmetric Type Iax explosion.

• Pa 30 is the only Milky Way remnant of its kind, about 7,500 light-years from Earth
• Each knot in the pearl-like strands spans roughly ten Neptune orbits
• The zombie star's transverse kick speed has a surprisingly low upper limit
• The 1181 event was recorded independently in Japan, China and Arabic sources