Online article on the Supernova of 1006
To quote:
Exactly one thousand years ago, people from Europe to China gazed into the southern night sky to wonder at the sudden appearance of what seemed to be a new star that outshone all others. Ali ibn Ridwan of Cairo, then 18 years old, was among them. The star hung low, about a hand’s span above the horizon, its light more than twice as bright as Venus. It was so bright that, like the moon, it cast shadows in the city beneath.
Full article here:
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200604/the.scholar.s.supernova.htm