also: きゃくせい · きゃくしょう
temporary celestial body; guest star
Refers to a celestial object that appears suddenly and is visible only for a short period, such as a comet, nova, or supernova. The term is primarily used in historical or astronomical contexts.
Ancient Chinese records contain descriptions of a guest star appearing.
This guest star is thought to have been a supernova explosion.
Standard kanji form; reading かくせい is the most common modern reading.
Alternate reading; less common than かくせい.
Historical reading; rarely used in modern Japanese.
From Chinese 客星 (kèxīng), literally 'guest star'. The term was used historically in East Asian astronomy to describe transient celestial phenomena.