Supernova 1054 AD – The Goldilocks Supernova That Illuminates A Medieval Mystery

Las Cumbres Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope color composite of the electron-capture supernova 2018zd (the large white dot on the right) and the host starburst galaxy NGC 2146 (toward the left). Credit: NASA/STSCI/J. Depasquale; Las Cumbres Observatory

The first convincing evidence for a new type of stellar explosion — an electron-capture supernova has been delivered by an international team led by UC Santa Barbara scientists at Las Cumbres Observatory.

The discovery sheds new light on the thousand-year mystery of the supernova from A.D. 1054 that was visible all over the world in the daytime, before eventually becoming the Crab Nebula.

This supernova that created the Crab Nebula was observed and recorded by Earth-bound chroniclers. Chinese astronomers noticed a bright “guest” star near Tianguan, (now known as a Zeta Tauri) in the constellation of the Bull. They were first to document the massive supernova of the Crab Nebula created thousands of years ago and consisting of a huge expanding cloud of gas and dust 6,000 light-years from Earth.

It was the first supernova observation ever recorded.

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Source: https://www.messagetoeagle.com/supernova-1054-ad-the-goldilocks-supernova-that-illuminates-a-medieval-mystery/