(ORDO NEWS) — The first mention in European culture of the historical supernova SN 1054, the remnant of which is now observed in the form of the Crab Nebula in the constellation Taurus, was found in the form of images on some Byzantine coins minted during the time of the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomakh.
At least, this is what an international group of scientists, who prepared an article for publication in the European Journal of Science and Theology, says. Her preprint is hosted in the arXiv.org repository.
There are many reports of SN 1054 from astronomers from the East, especially from China, Japan and the Islamic world, but similar mentions in Western sources are almost completely absent – except perhaps for some hints in very unexpected places – some versions of the coins depict two stars near the head emperor.
There has been debate in the astronomical community for decades over the strange lack of information about SN 1054 in Christian sources. It is possible that scientists were afraid to mention changes where there should not be such changes, where everything should have been perfect and inviolable – in the celestial sphere.
Doubts about the theological doctrine that dominated the Christian world at that time could lead both to excommunication and to the stake.
Meanwhile, on the special issues of coins with Constantine IX Monomakh Class IV there is a strange detail – two stars, which distinguishes them from the standard “one-star” ones issued during the reign of this monarch.
The Class IV is believed to have been minted between the summer of 1054 and the spring of 1055. They have two stars on either side of the head of the monarch. One of these stars symbolizes Venus, the Morning Star; the head of the monarch itself is believed to represent the sun.
However, another star could potentially represent a “guest star” (as Chinese observers called it) – supernova SN 1054. Moreover, the size of the stars is slightly different on 36 coins of the same year of issue, which the researchers were able to find in museums around the world. the world. The researchers suggest
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