Strange 3,000-year-old stone disk unearthed in Italy could be ancient map of stars, study says

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A wierd stone disk unearthed in Italy relationship to about 3,000 in the past could be an ancient map of the brightest stars in the night time sky, a brand new study suggests.

The stone disk, in regards to the measurement of a tire, was unearthed a number of years in the past close to a hill fort in northeastern Italy and comprises 29 mysterious chisel marks, researchers noticed.

Twenty-four of the chisel marks are on one face of the stone, and 5 marks are on the opposite.

Using software program to analyse the stone carvings, scientists discovered that the marks possible match teams of stars in the constellations of Orion, Scorpius, and Cassiopeia, in addition to the cluster Pleiades.

Researchers additionally discovered one other uncarved stone subsequent to it about 50 cm (20 inches) in diameter and 30 cm (12 inches) thick, which they think could be a illustration of the Sun.

One of the 29 marks stays to be recognized, based on the study, printed in the journal Astronomical Notes.

Scientists suspect the but unidentified chisel mark possible represents a star in the Orion cluster which will have since exploded as a supernova, or could be a failed supernova that has left a black gap behind.

“The unidentified mark challenges the whole picture. We suggest it could have been the progenitor of a failed supernova,” they wrote.

Searching for a black gap in this half of the sky could confirm this interpretation, researchers say.

“The case of a failed supernova is really intriguing as one of the techniques to search for them is precisely to look for missing stars in the current sky, by using images taken at previous times. This possibility offers a way to verify the proposed interpretation,” they added.

The disk, based on the study, could have been utilized by the individuals who lived about 3,000 years in the past on the hill fort to trace altering seasons as half of an agricultural calendar.

Pottery shards unearthed close to the location point out that the fort hill was in use from about 1800/1650 to 400 BCE, suggesting the stone disks can be safely referred solely to this lengthy timespan.

However, little is understood in regards to the ancient inhabitants of the Castelliere di Rupinpiccolo area the place the stones had been discovered.

Until now, the oldest recognized map of the night time sky is a palimpsest attributed to Greek astronomer Hipparchus dated to about 135 BC.

The Nebra sky disk, a bronze artifact with gold appliqués indicating the Sun, the Moon, and the Pleiades dated round 1600 BC is even older, however is a extra rudimentary illustration.

If the stone disk is confirmed to comprise a celestial map, it could predate the work of Hipparchus, and exhibit “evidence of unexpected astronomical curiosity in protohistoric Europe.”