Not since 1604 have human eyes witnessed a supernova directly.
In 1604, the last naked-eye supernova to occur in the Milky Way galaxy happened, known today as Kepler’s supernova. Although the supernova faded from naked-eye view by 1605, its remnant remains visible today, as shown here in an X-ray/optical/infrared composite. The bright yellow “streaks” are the only component still visible in the optical, more than 400 years later. (Credit: NASA, R. Sankrit (NASA Ames) and W.P. Blair (Johns Hopkins Univ.))