Rare Byzantine coin may show a 'forbidden' supernova explosion from A.D 1054
In A.D. 1054, a nearby star ran out of fuel and blew up in a dazzling supernova explosion. Though located 6,500 light-years away, the blast was clearly visible in the skies over Earth for 23 days and several hundred nights after.
Why not? Did the church simply ignore this spontaneous star, or was a more nefarious plot to cover up the reality of the cosmos at play? According to new research, a clue to the answer may hide in an unexpected place: a limited-edition gold coin. If this interpretation is correct, and the rare coin does show SN 1054, then it suggests that Byzantine scholars may have been forbidden from studying or writing about the supernova due to religious restrictions. In essence, the church may have had a"philosophical prejudice against any observed changes in the supposedly perfect and eternal night sky," the researchers wrote in the paper.
"Given the Church's stand on astronomy/astrology, there would be a strong incentive not to report the occurrence of any event — including an obvious supernova — that would threaten the theological/astronomical status quo," the study authors wrote."Perhaps one of the ways for a clever astronomer at Constantine IX's University of Constantinople to record the event would be to use a cipher, in this case, a minted coin of a special edition that was minted after the 1054 event.
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