Ancient rock art may depict exploding star

[Roon]

SPACE.com) -- A rock carving discovered in Arizona might depict an ancient star explosion seen by Native Americans a thousand years ago, scientists announced today.

If confirmed, the rock carving, or "petroglyph" would be the only known record in the Americas of the well-known supernova of the year 1006.

The carving was discovered in White Tanks Regional Park just outside Phoenix, in an area believed to have been occupied by a group of Native Americans called the Hohokam from about 500 to 1100 A.D.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/06/05/rock.art/index.html

I just thought this was too cool!!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

1. Wow!

That IS cool!
I wonder what they thought of it...

[pokerfan]

2. Fascinating

My first thought was that the Mayans would have left some sort of record of this event as they were keen astronomers. But alas, their civiliation was in steep decline by 1006.

The fact that the petroglyph shows the "star" in relation to Scorpius, convinces this amatuer astronomer that it truly is a record of the 1006 SN.

[xchrom]

3. that's amazing!

it's wonderful to see the depth and breadth of what our forebears knew.

[arwalden]

4. I Love Stuff Like This...

... but then again... it could have just been a rough outline of a large spider.

[puerco-bellies]

5. How would a relatively isolated indigenous tribe name a constellation

The same name as contemporary Eurasians?

[Radical Activist]

6. Exactly

what I was wondering.

[DBoon]

9. Scorpio has a very distinctive shape

It really does look like a scorpion. I assume the creators of the petroglyph were familiar with scorpions.

[bridgit]

7. oh yeah, it's cool, but those guys needed to work on their shading...

x( http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet/en :thumbsup:

[DixieBlue]

8. Wow, that's just way too cool ...

That's amazing.

Edited because I am a doof.

[rustydog]

10. since the nearest star is millions of light years away

it would look like the stars we observe at night. A little white dot in the sky.
How could people see the radiating arms without benefit of a telescope?

[tigereye]

11. neat!

thanks for posting.