A group of astronomers at the Tata Institute for Basic Research in India have discovered a rock drawing of a cosmic phenomenon that is believed to be a supernova. The artifact is about five thousand years old, making it the oldest depiction of an exploding star. This is reported by the Quartz edition.
A piece of rock with a pattern was found in Kashmir, an area in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent. It was embedded in the wall of an ancient house dating from 2100 BC. The stone depicts two bright objects in the sky, as well as figures of people and animals. According to the researchers, one of the luminous circles is the sun or moon, and the other is a supernova.
A supernova is the final stage in a star's life, when it explodes, releasing a huge amount of radiant energy. At the same time, intense X-ray radiation continues to be emitted for hundreds and thousands of years after the outbreak.
Scientists searched databases of supernovae and found that the flash, designated HB9, should have been visible on Earth around 3600 BC. This supernova, located 2,600 light-years from the Sun, looked like a luminous circle that was only slightly inferior in brightness to the full moon.
The figures of people and animals are, according to the researchers, the constellations that surrounded the place in the sky where HB9 flashed. So, the man with the bow is Orion, the deer is Taurus, the spearman is part of Pisces, and the dog is the Andromeda galaxy. These drawings match the outlines of real constellations, and the location of the glowing circle coincides with the location of the supernova.