Coin Austria Supernova - 20 EUROS SILVER AUSTRIA 2023

20 Euros AUSTRIA 2024.

Theme : Supernova
Quality : Proof

Edition: 30,000 pieces.
Silver 925 ‰ - 22.42 g - Ø 34 mm

Alternating convex and concave surface
Delivered in a slipcase with its certificate

ATTENTION! SOLD OUT AT THE ISSUING INSTITUTE!

With a corrugated edge and convex reverse, the Supernova Coin also has a concave obverse depicting the Crab Nebula, a remnant of the supernova observed in 1054, which lies some 6,500 light-years from Earth and is approximately 11x7 light-years in size. "NGC 1952" refers to the designation of the Crab Nebula. The centre of the coin also refers to the rapidly rotating Crab pulsar, a source of cosmic radiation. The reverse of the coin features a colour illustration of the Crab Nebula, based on an image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Supernova coinage captures a phenomenon that was first recorded just over a thousand years ago. In 1054, Chinese and Arab astronomers who observed the phenomenon noted a luminosity that increased at a remarkable rate. This phenomenon was due to the massive explosion of a star with a mass around ten times that of the Sun, which we now call a supernova.

After millions of years, the star in question exhausted its 'fuel' of hydrogen nuclei and, stabilised throughout its life by the pressure created by nuclear fusion within it, collapsed under the effect of its own gravity. This collapse first occurred in the outer layers before rebounding explosively. Since then, the stellar remnant and aeolian pulsar, known as the Crab Nebula, has been moving away from the former centre of the explosion at a speed of several million kilometres per hour.

At the centre of the Crab Nebula is a small rotating neutron star, the Crab Pulsar. Thanks to its magnetic field, the Crab pulsar emits large quantities of energy and illuminates the Crab Nebula. In doing so, it creates the astonishing cosmic spectacle of a supernova.