Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: One of the all-time historic skyscapes occured in July 1054, when theCrab Supernovablazed into the dawn sky.Chinese court astrologersfirst saw theGuest Staron the morning of 4 July 1054next to the starTianguan(now cataloged asZeta Tauri).Thesupernovapeaked in late July 1054 a bit brighter than Venus,and was visible in the daytime for 23 days.The Guest Star was so bright that every culture around the worldinevitably discovered the supernova independently, although only ninereports survive, including those from China,Japan, andConstantinople.This iPhone picture is fromSignal Hillnear Tucson on the morning of 26 July 2025,faithfully re-creates the year 1054 Dawn of the Crab,showing the sky as seen byHohokam peoples.The planet Venus, as a stand-in for thesupernova,is close to the position of what is now theCrab Nebula supernova remnant.Step outside on asummer dawn with bright Venus, and ask yourself "What would you havethought in ancient times when suddenly seeing the Dawn of the Crab?"