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Timeline of Suprnovas

This list of supernovas comes from contemporary reports made by medieval people who experienced them.

A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion that occurs at the end of a star's life cycle. It is one of the most energetic events in the universe, briefly outshining entire galaxies. Supernovae play a crucial role in the cosmos by dispersing elements and triggering star formation in nearby regions.

Supernovae can briefly outshine an entire galaxy, releasing as much energy in a few weeks as the Sun will in its entire lifetime.

The explosion expels material at high speeds, creating remnants like the Crab Nebula and the blast can compress surrounding gas, leading to the birth of new stars.

Supernovae are important because heavy elements such as gold, silver, and uranium are formed in the intense heat of the explosion and scattered into space, enriching the cosmos with the building blocks for planets and life.

1006

At a -7.5 visual magnitude, this supernova could be the brightest stellar event to be recorded. Civilisations around the world recorded the same event that was visible for several months. The minus figure indicating that it as a bright event as the magnitude scale runs backwards.

1054

The supernova that occurred in this year formed the Crab Nebula and the event was recorded by astronomers in China. The explosion was so great that the supernova would have been visible during the daytime. Due to the huge distances involved, the explosion would have happened thousands of years earlier but the light from the event only reached Earth in 1054.

1181

Chinese astronomers saw and documented a supernova now known as SN 1181 and is believed to have originated in the constellation Cassiopeia.

1572

A supernova visible to the naked eye in the constellation Cassiopeia was seen during this year. Starting in November, its brightness, greater than Jupiter's, diminished over several months.

1604

This supernova was visible to the naked eye and described by Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer. It is also known as Kepler's supernova and is the last supernova to have been seen with the naked eye.

A Medieval Mystery

There appear to be some strange connections between the fourteenth century Old Wardour Castle and ancient stone circle Stonehenge.

1: Location

Old Wardour Castle appears to be aligned to ancient sites in the Stonehenge landscape.

2: Alignment

Stonehenge is aligned to the Summer Solstice. Old Wardour has a very similar alignment.

3: Size

Could the builders of Old Wardour used mesaurements from Stonehenge to layout the geometrical keep?

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