Supernova SN 1006 blazes in southern sky

April 30, 1006

Astronomers from Egypt to China to Switzerland recorded a new star in Lupus so bright that objects cast shadows by its light and men read at midnight by its glow. Modern physicists studying the remnant call it the brightest stellar event in recorded human history. The Egyptian astronomer Ali ibn Ridwan left the most detailed account, noting the star's brilliance exceeded a quarter of the moon's light.