Bill Saunders, age 10, of Scottsdale, Arizona, for his question:

How far is the earth from the nearest supernova

A supernova is a rare stellar explosion that blazes with the brilliance of 100 million suns. Viewed from a distance of 33 light years, such a spectacle would be bright enough to turn night into day. A supernova recorded in 1577 shone brighter than Venus at her best. For a while it could be seen in the noonday sky. But like all stellar explosions, it faded quickly. Modern astronomers have found no trace of its whereabouts. A supernova was recorded in 1604 but only an almost undetectable cloud of gases remain to identify it.

The biggest supernova to occur    in our galaxy was recorded in the year 1054.  This monstrous explosion occurred in the constellation Taurus and clearly identifiable  traces of it still remain. It is known as the Crab Nebula because of the tentacle  pattern of its trailing, exploding gases. The Crab Nebula is estimated to be between  5,000 and 6,000 light years from the earth. So far as we know, it is the closest  supernova that ever occurred in our part of the Galaxy.