Search for ancient Indian records of the sighting of supernovae

Abstract

The Crab Nebula is recognized today as a supernova remnant. Historical records from China show that the star explosion leading to the event was observed by the Chinese star gazers on 4 July 1054. There have also been indications from the rock carvings of the American Indians and records of a physician in the Middle East that they had witnessed this spectacular event. As the event would have been visible from the Indian subcontinent, efforts were made to search for written records available in India. This paper is an account of that search and its conclusions. Although some suggestive references were found, they are not definitive enough to be identified with the event. Some reasons are advanced for the apparent lack of written records. What is common amongst the following: A Chinese Emperor of the Sung Dynasty, the Red Indian tribes on the American subcontinent, a learned physician from the Middle East, all belonging to the eleventh century and the astronomers of the twentieth century? This may sound like a quiz question, whose cryptic answer is: They were all witnesses to a spectacular cosmic event, which is still unfolding, an event that was first witnessed on the earth on 4 July 1054, but whose aftermath is being studied even today, and will continue to be investigated by astronomers in the years to come. (a) Let us begin with the Chinese, to whom we are indebted for maintaining records that date back nine and a half centuries. In the History of Sung Dynasty by Ho Peng Yoke, published in 1962 the following event is described: