Heavenly Wonder Of Ancient China Goes On Show (1,300 Year-Old Star-Chart)

Ananova ^ | 5-3-2004

[blam]

The Article was originally published by the Independent but, we cannot post articles from them.

The Sky At Night...As Seen By Chinese 1,300 Years Ago

[blam]

Dunhuang is the location of The Jade Gate. Jim, who do you think were the people in this location in 700AD?

[blam]

This is in the general area where the Red-Headed Mummies were found.

The Curse Of The Red-Headed Mummy

[tallhappy]

How was it dated?

[blam]

"How was it dated?"

Don't know.

'Oldest Star Chart' Found (32,500 Years Old)

[steveo]

Hey, I thought I named that star!?!?!

[blam]

Bronze Age Star Chart

[tiamat]

VERY cool!

Thank you for sharing it!

[John Locke]

It also represents the sky as a sphere projected on a cylinder, a modern technique first adopted in Europe in the 15th century.

No, a technique invented by Archimedes in 250 BC.

And if the picture is an accurate representation of this Chinese star chart, it is a lot more crude than the one made by Hipparkhos of Nicaea in about 150 BC.

The first modern star chart, by the way, had nothing to do with Galileo. It was compiled by Tycho de Brahe in the late 16th century, and no, he did not have a telescope.

[JimSEA]

The find seems ver consistent with both the Chinese and Indo-Iranian (and others) traditions and archaeology. The excellence of the map makes one think of high country observations don't they (faint stars)? I can't find anything on it but I seem to remember early observatories in the Hindu Kush? Does that ring a bell?????

[Zuben Elgenubi]

I agree.

[blam]

"Does that ring a bell?????"

My memory is shot. I guess the Iranians had made it into that area by that time.

[farmfriend]

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[Fedora]

The find seems ver consistent with both the Chinese and Indo-Iranian (and others) traditions and archaeology. The excellence of the map makes one think of high country observations don't they (faint stars)? I can't find anything on it but I seem to remember early observatories in the Hindu Kush? Does that ring a bell?????

It made me wonder if they were collecting any astronomical information from observatories in the Himalayas.

[Fedora]

It seems like Brahe never gets credit for some reason :) BTW on Archimedes, an interesting point there is that the Hellenist astronomers were drawing from a long tradition of observations stretching back to the Egyptians and Babylonians as well. Ancients like Aristarchus had surprisingly advanced astronomical knowledge.

[JimSEA]

Same here.

[RightWhale]

The chart does not look super-accurate. They had astrolabes and could have make an accurate chart.

[SunkenCiv]

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