Supernova of AD 1181 and its Remnant: 3C 58

Every year astronomers see hundreds of supernova explosions in other galaxies, but in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, those have been rare events, only five over the last 1000 years. One of the more mysterious events happened back in AD 1181 and was discovered by Chinese and Japanese astronomers as a "guest star" in the constellation Cassiopeia. Today this guest star is known to us as supernova SN 1181. This historical supernova explosion most likely left behind the synchrotron nebula 3C 58 (supernova remnant G130.7+3.1), a nebula produced by the wind of a fast-spinning neutron star, the pulsar J 0205+6449. 3C 58 is very similar to the Crab Nebula in age, distance, size, and morphology, but much less luminous. Like the Crab Nebula, 3C 58 also does not show a shell-type remnant that would indicate the interaction of the supernova shock wave with the ambient medium. Here, I review what we know about SN 1181 and 3C 58 and the probable connection between them.