Unbeknownst to them, they were among the first humans to observe and record evidence of a supernova explosion.
Thanks to 21st-century astronomy, we may finally be unraveling the mysteries of this ancient phenomenon.
However, SN 1181 was no ordinary stellar event.
The bizarre survival of this dead-but-not-destroyed remnant revealed that SN 1181 wasn’t a typical throw in Ia supernova.
The mystery only deepened from there.
However, their simulations revealed something truly peculiar two distinct shock wave patterns.
Astronomers are now focusing their largest telescopes on the SN 1181 remnant to uncover its secrets.
