[SunkenCiv]

An eerie "red crucifix" seen in Britain's evening sky in ad 774 may be a previously unrecognized supernova explosion -- and could explain a mysterious spike in carbon-14 levels in that year's growth rings in Japanese cedar trees. The link is suggested today in a Nature Correspondence by a US undergraduate student with a broad interdisciplinary background and a curious mind. A few weeks ago, Jonathon Allen, a biochemistry major at the University of California, Santa Cruz, was listening to the Nature podcast when he heard about a team of researchers in Japan who had found an odd spike in carbon-14 levels in tree rings. The spike probably came from a burst of high-energy radiation striking the upper atmosphere, increasing the rate at which carbon-14 is formed. But there was a problem: the only known causes of such radiation are supernova explosions or gigantic solar flares, and the researchers knew of no such events in ad 774 or 775, the dates indicated by the tree rings... His long-standing interest in history was helpful, he notes. "I knew that going that far back, there's very limited written history," he says. "The only things I'd ever seen or heard of were religious texts and 'chronicles' that listed kings and queens, wars and things of that nature." His search found the eighth-century entries in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle at the Avalon Project, an online library of historical and legal documents hosted by Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Scrolling down to the year ad 774, Allen found a reference to a "red crucifix" that appeared in the heavens "after sunset". [Ancient text gives clue to mysterious radiation spike]

Historical texts like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle often refer to astronomical events. [ Mary Evans Picture Library ]

[Pontiac]

An eerie "red crucifix" seen in Britain's evening sky in ad 774 may be a previously unrecognized supernova explosion -- and could explain a mysterious spike in carbon-14 levels in that year's growth rings in Japanese cedar trees.

I am not an astrophysicist but seems to me that the radiation from a supernova should arrive some time after the light produced from the supernova. Things with mass like protons and neutron travel slightly slower than the speed of light

So attributing the C-14 in tree rings of the same year in Japan seems a stretch.

Also should there not be extra C-14 world wide from such an event.

The radiation from a super nova should strike the entire planet or at least the extra C-14 created in the upper atmosphere should be fairly evenly distributed as is disperses to lower altitudes.

[martin_fierro]

	CЯUZIO >> PING <<
Send FReepmail if you want on/off the SANTA CЯUZ COUNTY CA ping list
This is why we can't have nice things
The List of Ping Lists

[null and void]

[GreyFriar]

An interesting theory. And plausable to me.

[Kirkwood]

A cross shape would suggest some kind of diffraction effect in the atmosphere. This sounds more like a combination of lots of atmospheric dust and a sun-dog.

[bunkerhill7]

a mysterious "red crucifix" appeared in the "heavens" over Britain one evening in A.D. 774 made by two 747`s

[ConservativeMind]

I read something about this very theory at least a month ago. Was it something you posted or something on Phys.org I read?

[ConservativeMind]

It was on The Register in the UK on June 5th:

http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2012/06/05/mysterious_energy_blast/

Look at the post by “Resound” at 5:52 GMT.

This guy beat Mr Allen’s podcast.

[ConservativeMind]

Also noted by this blog that day:

http://grimbeorn.blogspot.com/2012/06/anno-domini-774.html

[ConservativeMind]

The Nature podcast was from June 7th. Mr. Allen is NOT the first person to find this.

http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/index-2012-06-07.html

[ForGod'sSake]

His long-standing interest in history was helpful, he notes. "I knew that going that far back, there's very limited written history," he says. "The only things I'd ever seen or heard of were religious texts and 'chronicles' that listed kings and queens, wars and things of that nature."

This guy should get out more.