Medieval Arabic texts help researchers track down explosive star deaths

In 1181, Egyptian, Chinese, and Japanese scholars documented a cosmic explosion. A scan of an Arabic manuscript of the dīwān of Ibn Sanā' al-Mulk dating back to 1181-1182 (left). The Annual perseid meteor seen in the sky on August 14, 2023. The meteors have a radiant bordering on Cassiopeia and Camelopardalis (right). Fischer et al. 2025, Astronomical Notes (left).