On Cas A, Cassini, comets, and King Charles
We re-examine the long-standing problem of the date of the Cassiopeia A supernova (SN), in view of recent claims that it might be the 1630 ‘noon-star’ seen at the birth of King Charles II. We do not support this identification, based on the expected brightness of a Type-IIb SN (too faint to be seen...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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CSIRO
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40091 |
| _version_ | 1848755771877097472 |
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| author | Soria, Roberto Balestrieri, R. Ohtsuka, Y. |
| author_facet | Soria, Roberto Balestrieri, R. Ohtsuka, Y. |
| author_sort | Soria, Roberto |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | We re-examine the long-standing problem of the date of the Cassiopeia A supernova (SN), in view of recent claims that it might be the 1630 ‘noon-star’ seen at the birth of King Charles II. We do not support this identification, based on the expected brightness of a Type-IIb SN (too faint to be seen in daylight), the extrapolated motion of the ejecta (inconsistent with a date earlier than 1650), the lack of any scientific follow-up observations, the lack of any mention of it in Asian archives. The origin of the 1630 noon-star event (if real) remains a mystery; there was a bright comet in 1630 June but no evidence to determine whether or not it was visible in daylight. Instead, we present French reports about a fourth-magnitude star discovered by Cassini in Cassiopeia in or shortly before 1671, which was not seen before or since. The brightness is consistent with what we expect for the Cas A SN; the date is consistent with the extrapolated motion of the ejecta. We argue that this source could be the long-sought SN. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:01:36Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-40091 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:01:36Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | CSIRO |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-400912017-09-13T15:08:55Z On Cas A, Cassini, comets, and King Charles Soria, Roberto Balestrieri, R. Ohtsuka, Y. supernovae: general atlases history and philosophy of astronomy supernovae: individual: Cas A We re-examine the long-standing problem of the date of the Cassiopeia A supernova (SN), in view of recent claims that it might be the 1630 ‘noon-star’ seen at the birth of King Charles II. We do not support this identification, based on the expected brightness of a Type-IIb SN (too faint to be seen in daylight), the extrapolated motion of the ejecta (inconsistent with a date earlier than 1650), the lack of any scientific follow-up observations, the lack of any mention of it in Asian archives. The origin of the 1630 noon-star event (if real) remains a mystery; there was a bright comet in 1630 June but no evidence to determine whether or not it was visible in daylight. Instead, we present French reports about a fourth-magnitude star discovered by Cassini in Cassiopeia in or shortly before 1671, which was not seen before or since. The brightness is consistent with what we expect for the Cas A SN; the date is consistent with the extrapolated motion of the ejecta. We argue that this source could be the long-sought SN. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40091 10.1017/pas.2013.003 CSIRO fulltext |
| spellingShingle | supernovae: general atlases history and philosophy of astronomy supernovae: individual: Cas A Soria, Roberto Balestrieri, R. Ohtsuka, Y. On Cas A, Cassini, comets, and King Charles |
| title | On Cas A, Cassini, comets, and King Charles |
| title_full | On Cas A, Cassini, comets, and King Charles |
| title_fullStr | On Cas A, Cassini, comets, and King Charles |
| title_full_unstemmed | On Cas A, Cassini, comets, and King Charles |
| title_short | On Cas A, Cassini, comets, and King Charles |
| title_sort | on cas a, cassini, comets, and king charles |
| topic | supernovae: general atlases history and philosophy of astronomy supernovae: individual: Cas A |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40091 |