Red Crucifix sighting in 774 may have been supernova

(Phys.org) -- A supernova may have actually been the mysterious "Red Crucifix" in the sky that is cited in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles for the year 774. New correspondence between a university student and Nature carries interesting observations that astronomers could be looking at a previously unrecognized supernova. Historical texts like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle have made reference to astronomical events before and a sighting in 774 told of a red crucifix in the sky in Britain during evening hours. Some say the sighting could have been what was the result of a supernova explosion.