Abstract
Various temporary stars recorded in history prior to the advent of the telescopic era have been proposed as possible supernovae in our Galaxy. Five of these stars – those first seen in the years AD 1006, 1054, 1181, 1572 and 1604 – remained visible for at least 6 months. These were recorded in detail in a variety of historical sources. All are well-established supernovae and their remnants have been confidently identified. Many further new stars have been recorded in East Asian history, some of which – ranging in date from the fourteenth century BC to AD 1592 – have been proposed as other possible sightings of supernovae. However, in most instances only a single brief record is extant, sometimes without any indication of the duration of visibility or a clear description of the celestial location. Here we consider these additional sightings, including those that have been suggested as supernovae.
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(Identification of the extended source of radio emission close to η Gemini with the nebular remnant of the outburst of nova AD 837). Dokl Akad Nauk SSSR 97:53–55Author information
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Green, D.A., Stephenson, F.R. (2016). Possible and Suggested Historical Supernovae in the Galaxy. In: Alsabti, A., Murdin, P. (eds) Handbook of Supernovae. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20794-0_51-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20794-0_51-1
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