Pa 30 is a nebula in Cassiopeia and the likely remnant of the supernova recorded as a “guest star” in 1181. It is documented in deep optical observations and detailed images from large professional telescopes, but the available evidence does not establish that an ordinary amateur telescope can show it visually—or specify a consumer setup that will. You can use a current sky chart to locate its field, but a reliable star-hop and exact pointing instructions are not established here.
What Pa 30 is
Historical records from China, Japan, and the Arab world describe a guest star that remained visible for 185 days in 1181. Pa 30 is considered the likely supernova remnant associated with that event. The identification is supported by the nebula’s measured size, estimated distance, and expansion, though the exact explosion mechanism remains unsettled.
In a 2023 paper, Fesen and colleagues reported deep optical [S II] imaging that revealed a nebula about 170 arcseconds in diameter, structured into dozens of radially aligned filaments. The paper gives an estimated distance of 2.3 kpc and an expansion velocity of 1100 km/s, which the authors say are consistent with an explosion around 1181. These are research measurements, not observing instructions or a guarantee of visibility through a particular telescope. Read the 2023 study.
Can you see Pa 30 through an amateur telescope?
The documented views are deep optical and professional-observatory observations. A 2026 report from the Center for Astrophysics describes follow-up work with the KPNO 2.1-meter and Hiltner 2.4-meter telescopes, which showed faint diffuse emission and radial filaments. The report’s Gemini North observations revealed about ten times more filamentary structure than earlier observations. See the Center for Astrophysics report.
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Those results make Pa 30 a challenging deep-imaging target in the evidence available here, but they do not prove that amateur detection is impossible. Nor do they establish a visual detection threshold, limiting magnitude, recommended aperture, camera, filter, mount, or exposure time. Treat observatory images as scientific images, not as a preview of what you should expect at an eyepiece.
How to locate its field
Pa 30 is in Cassiopeia. The sources documenting it do not provide a verified coordinate entry, chart, or star-hop suitable for step-by-step pointing directions. Do not rely on a guessed position or directions for a different object in Cassiopeia.
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- Open a current planetarium app or star chart and search for “Pa 30.” Confirm that the result identifies the nebula or supernova remnant, rather than a similarly named object.
- Check the plotted position against a trusted astronomical chart or catalog before planning a session. If your chart does not identify Pa 30 clearly, do not infer its location from a nearby object without a verified chart.
- Once you have confirmed the field, use your mount or chart to point there. Finding the field and detecting the nebula are separate tasks: the first does not establish that the second is within your equipment’s reach.
What recent images reveal
Gemini North observations reported in October 2026 show fine structure in Pa 30’s filamentary shell, including chains of knots. NASA’s October 7, 2026 Astronomy Picture of the Day describes the knots as pearl-like and gives their physical diameter as about four light-days. That physical size is not an angular-size estimate for an eyepiece view. View NASA’s Pa 30 feature.
NASA identifies the event as a Type Iax supernova while emphasizing that astronomers do not know exactly what happened; the merger of two white dwarfs is a proposed explanation, not a settled account. NASA’s 2024 Pa 30 feature also discusses the remnant and its proposed connection to the historical event.
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