What was the star that appeared in the sky of China for only 6 months

In official documents, even in Japan, the appearance of a bright spot in 1181 AD. The mystery of the Chinese star that after 6 months disappeared forever.

Of mysteries that have to do with galaxies, stars or sightings there are certainly many. Many of those reported, however, have no basis and do not deserve to be investigated with the scientific method. In fact, just a few cross-checks to understand that what is reported online or told in the documents of the past decades is nothing more than a hoax.

Different is the case of the bright spot appeared above the skies of China and Japan around the twelfth century AD. The multiplicity of historical testimonies is to be considered absolutely reliable and deserving of the attention of the researchers, who have come up with a hypothesis to explain what exactly consisted the sighting reported by various official sources in the Far East.

Here is the whole story.

What is the mystery of the star appeared in the sky for only six months

The year was 1181 AD. In the sky of China and Japan appeared a mysterious object comparable in brightness to Saturn. The sixth planet of the Solar System is still sighted, in the night sky, if you know where to look, but the luminescence in the eastern skies lasted only 6 months, from August 6, 1181 to February 6, 1182 AD.

Between the two Chinese constellations, Chuanshe and Huagai, near the modern Cassiopeia, however, now there is no longer that point mentioned in the sources examined by scientists.

What was it, really, the bright spot appeared in the skies of China and Japan?

After careful investigation, researchers have developed a hypothesis that can answer the question: what was, really, the bright spot that appeared in the skies of China and Japan?

The astronomers focused on a fast-expanding nebula called Pa30, which travels at a speed that covers the space between Earth and the Moon in just five minutes.

Tracing the nebula’s journey backwards, it was discovered that it was right where the impromptu Japanese star was spotted 900 years ago. It would therefore have been a supernova, whose glow was visible from Earth for 185 days and which has now left behind a nebula that has been wandering in space for 9 centuries (a bit like these unknown stars that are exploding).

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Giuseppe Giordano