Publication Abstracts

Stothers 1977

Stothers, R., 1977: Is the supernova of A.D. 185 recorded in ancient Roman literature? Isis, 68, 443-437.

If the Far Eastern reports are necessarily used as a guide to interpreting the ancient Western literature, then only one supernova event is likely to have been recorded in the West, namely, the brilliant "guest star" of A.D. 185 that occurred in the southern constellation Centaurus. In Western civilization, the event occurred during the reign of the Roman emperor Commodus (180-192). It must have been readily visible from the latitude of Alexandria (which is 3.5° farther south than Loyang) but only marginally visible from Antioch or Carthage; it would have been invisible from all points in Italy and Gaul. A search of Western literature has turned up two possible references to it.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{st07810a,
  author={Stothers, R.},
  title={Is the supernova of A.D. 185 recorded in ancient Roman literature?},
  year={1977},
  journal={Isis},
  volume={68},
  pages={443--437},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - st07810a
AU  - Stothers, R.
PY  - 1977
TI  - Is the supernova of A.D. 185 recorded in ancient Roman literature?
JA  - Isis
JO  - Isis
VL  - 68
SP  - 443
EP  - 437
ER  -

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