by francopoli

On July 4, 1054 A.D., Chinese astronomers noted a "guest star" in the constellation Taurus; Simon Mitton lists 5 independent preserved Far-East records of this event (one of 75 authentic guest stars - novae and supernovae, excluding comets - systematically recorded by Chinese astronomers between 532 B.C. and 1064 A.D., according to Simon Mitton). This star became about 4 times brighter than Venus in its brightest light, or about mag -6, and was visible in daylight for 23 days.

M1, or the Crab Nebula is a great outreach target because we know exactly when the star went boom, and that boom was witnessed by people who had written records and kept notes. I try to tie in astronomy and history, and how our knowledge of the stars and sky impacted the world we live in here on earth. M1 is easy to find, easy to see and even in light polluted cities shows up as at least a smudge in the eyepiece. Then, after looking at the faint smudge, you tell them that this was made over a thousand years ago and was bright enough to see in the middle of the summer sky, and you can see on people's faces that there is that long connection from now to the past.