A Second UV "Light Bulb" behind the SN 1006 Remnant

A point X-ray source located 9 arcmin northeast of the center of SN~1006 has been spectroscopically identified as a background QSO, with a redshift of 0.335. The object is moderately bright, with magnitude V=18.3. If its ultraviolet spectrum is typical of low-z quasars, this object will be a second (after the Schweizer-Middleditch star) source to use for absorption spectroscopy of material within SN 1006. Absorption spectra provide a unique probe for unshocked ejecta within this supernova remnant, and can possibly solve the long-standing problem of “missing” iron in the remnants of Type Ia supernovae.