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The chronicles of the 12th century are not that detailed, and the science of astronomy was then, say, without tools. However, this strange light was mentioned several times in 1181 and appears to have existed. But what could it be?
Observers of that time compared it with other celestial bodies. It looked as bright as Saturn. Written sources have preserved the position of this body in the sky, but scientists of these times have no way of understanding what it could have been. Bright like Saturn, but gone after 6 months, what?
The riddle seems finally solved. Scientists from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Spain, Hungary and France have discovered that what remains after the 1181 explosion is now the Pa 30 Nebula. It is one of the hottest formations of its kind on the Bird Trail. It is believed to have formed from the merger of two extremely dense white dwarfs.
This is an extremely rare type of supernova that scientists are not yet aware of.
Supernova explosion. Photo by NASA, ESA, STScI / The University of Hong Kong.
Thus, sky watchers saw the supernova explosion in 1181, and now we can see the nebula that was left behind. Scientists combined this nebula with the 1181 phenomenon by observing the rate of expansion of the nebula and determining when the explosion occurred. It was supposed to have occurred about 900 years ago and could have been seen from Earth. This is a very rare opportunity to explore these types of supernovae and better understand how they occur and what remains after them.
From 1006 to the present, humans have been able to observe five bright supernovae. So far, scientists have been able to detect four of them. Pa Nebula, discovered only in 2013, completes this set. Well, at least that’s how you think: 840 years is a long time and our galaxy is very large.
Source: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ac2253
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