9 october 1604

it is very rare for people on earth to be able to observe a supernova with the unaided eye, so naturally the supernova of 1604 was pretty awesome. this particular supernova is also called kepler's supernova because he studied it extensively. this is an incredibly important event because the firsthand accounts of it are some of the only records us earthlings have of supernovas so close to the earth (only 20,000 lightyears away!). what was so amazing about this supernova was that it was visible to the naked eye for about 3 weeks. day and night. if only an event like this were to happen during our technological day and age we could learn so much more. but that is part of what makes this event so important: it is almost all we have for these events. the only similar one i can think of off the top of my head is the supernova occurring in 1054,which is now the beautiful crab nebula supernova remnant in taurus.
                                                       
this is kepler's supernova remnant                                                          crab nebula