Supernovae

Abstract

When a significant event in astronomy occurs, the attention and gaze of the world is captured. Modern-day technology with so many “eyes” eagerly awaits that which perhaps previously went unseen. The supernova (SN) of 1054 is important as it reflects just how the event was observed globally during a time when the “eyes” of the world were fewer. The supernova brought to the fore just how the world perceived such a happening at the time. Many civilizations would probably have not been known about or been as well documented in history if such events did not occur, with their lives and cultures perhaps not undergoing as much scrutiny if there was no possible link seen to such events. SN 1054 and other supernovae have time and time again brought the records of many nations to the fore, probably in a way that only another astronomical phenomenon, comets, has achieved.