A team of astronomers from the Chinese University of Science and Technology believes they have solved the mystery of the strange star of 1408. Their work is published on the arXiv preprint server.
Chinese astronomers kept meticulous records of celestial events for more than two millennia, documenting everything from “guest stars” (temporary bright objects) to comets, eclipses, and planetary parades with remarkable accuracy and consistency. These records represent an invaluable archive of observations. However, translating and interpreting them poses considerable difficulties. It is necessary to translate ancient terminology, convert coordinate systems, and determine the nature of fleeting events based on often brief descriptions.
One such event, a Chinese guest star in 1408 AD, was recorded in Ming Dynasty documents in October of that year. The event was described as a stationary yellow object that remained visible for more than 10 days. Located in the constellations Cygnus and Vulpecula, it exhibited characteristics consistent with a new star: significant brightness (estimated at between -4 and 0 magnitude), color stability, and a stable light curve over a long period of time.
Until now, this 600-year-old mystery has posed a challenge to modern astronomy, requiring interpretation of historical astronomical records. Recently, Chinese scientists discovered a detailed congratulatory document written by court scientist Hu Guang just a few weeks after observing the star in 1408. It contains much more reliable information than the previously available abridged records.
In the text, the mysterious object is described “as large as a cup, with pure yellow color, smooth and bright” and remaining “stationary and calm over ten days.” The discovery of this document dispels previous concerns about fabricated records and reveals important differences in translation.
The careful choice of words describing the star as “yellow” and “bright” rather than “rays” or “spikes” reflects how Chinese astronomers deliberately avoided ominous descriptions when compiling reports for the emperor, prioritizing political considerations over purely objective astronomical language while still providing valuable details about the event.
The team conclude that the available evidence strongly suggests that this is a star rather than a comet, and that the stable light curve indicates a special type of new star. Although the report of yellow color should be interpreted with caution due to Chinese cultural preferences regarding colors and the limitations of historical color terminology, the object was clearly visible against the bright Milky Way and was bright enough to be observed and discussed.
Brightness can be assessed by several criteria: colors are only visible in stars brighter than magnitude 2, and the term used in the text was reserved for extremely bright phenomena. The combination of sustained brightness, color, and ceremonial significance attributed to the observation by court astronomers indicates that the event of 1408 was most likely a new star that remained remarkably stable over a long period of observation.
This breakthrough demonstrates how ancient Chinese astronomical records, when interpreted correctly, can make a significant contribution to our understanding of stellar evolution. The new 1408 star joined other successfully identified Chinese guest stars, such as the supernova of 1054, proving the importance of historical observations.
According to Phys.org
