Historical Organization
Chinese Astronomical Bureau
Court observers reported a bright new star near Tianguan on 4 July 1054, visible in daylight for weeks.
Modern astronomy connects the historical observation to an expanding supernova remnant with a pulsar at its center.
The Chinese state maintained specialist observers whose reports allow later researchers to date short-lived celestial events.
What observers described as a new star is now understood as the explosive end of a massive star.
