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Chinese historian dates exploded supernova to time of legendary Emperor Yao as told in ancient annals

  • Human supernova observation could be thousands of years older than thought after analysis of remnants identified as PKS 1209-52
  • ‘If we could find more evidence to confirm this event, it is also going to make the early part of Chinese history more convincing’, historian says

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Supernova remnant PKS 1209-52 are captured by the Russian-German Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma mission. Photo: A. Merloni, C. Maitra, M. Ramos (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)
Ling Xinin Beijing
A Chinese study claims to have found the remnants of a powerful supernova explosion dating back four thousand years to the Xia dynasty, which could push back the history of supernova observation thousands of years if confirmed.
Around 42 years into the reign of the legendary Emperor Yao (2356-2255BC), a massive star in the Centaurus constellation reached the end of its life. It exploded and lit up the sky for at least 100 days, according to historian Wu Jiabi in the peer-reviewed journal Acta Astronomica Sinica last month.

Although no textual records have survived from the Xia – the first dynasty in Chinese history – a brief description of the event was passed down and recounted in later historical documents, said Wu, of the school of history at Beijing Normal University.

Supernova remnant PKS 1209-52 seen by the Russian-German Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma mission. Photo: A Merloni, C Maitra, M Ramos (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)
Supernova remnant PKS 1209-52 seen by the Russian-German Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma mission. Photo: A Merloni, C Maitra, M Ramos (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)

The remnants of the explosion – now identified as the barrel-shaped PKS 1209-52 more than 3,000 light years away – have been studied extensively using modern telescopes. For instance, scientists believe there is a super dense, fast spinning neutron star at the heart of PKS 1209-52, which is only 10km (6.2 miles) across but has a greater mass than the Earth.

“Based on astronomical calculations, PKS 1209-52 matches very well with the supernova explosion recorded in ancient texts in terms of location, distance, and age,” Wu said on Wednesday.

Chinese people have a long history of observing and recording supernova explosions. In 185AD, imperial astronomers of the Han dynasty reported the appearance of a bright star, known as the Nanmen guest star, which is the oldest confirmed human recording of a supernova event.

In 1054AD, Song dynasty astronomers spotted a star brighter than Venus in the eastern sky. Today it is known as a supernova explosion in the constellation of Taurus, and the resulting Crab Nebula remnant has become one of the most beautiful and well-studied objects in the sky.

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