Is ancient Chinese astronomer Shi Shen's stellar catalogue the world's first star log?
Two Chinese scientists believe their country's earliest star catalogue – an astronomical list of celestial bodies known as 'Shi's Star Catalogue' – is the world's oldest star log, dating back some 2,400 years.
Advertisement
Citing new evidence in a study published on April 4 in the peer-reviewed astronomy journal Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics, researchers Zhao Yongheng and He Boliang from the National Astronomical Observatories, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that Shi's Star Catalogue was created around 335BC.
That would make the
stellar accounts , also known as the Star Manual of Master Shi, the oldest known human records of the stars, according to the study.
In their investigation, the astronomers used image processing technology to convert ancient records into measurable celestial coordinates, which ultimately confirmed approximate years of observations in the main content of Shi's Star Catalogue, which was followed by supplementary revisions centuries later, around AD125.
Experts believe that astronomers from both China and
Greece began studying the night sky in detail at around the same time.
Advertisement
Until now, the Hipparchus star catalogue from Greece has been recognised as the world's oldest, believed to have been created in the 2nd century BC. But the new research published by Zhao and He suggests that the Chinese catalogue is the oldest known human record of the stars.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Yin, yang and yeast: how ancient Chinese wisdom helped decode cell life cycles
Chinese researchers have decoded the metabolic cycle of yeast using mathematical analysis, revealing striking parallels with the ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang. The study, led by Professor Li Lei from the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, redefines the understanding of metabolic phases in this single-celled eukaryote – one of the smallest model organisms used in the study of molecular life mechanisms. While yeast metabolism has long been studied as a three-stage process, Li's team chose to use mathematical tools to reorganise it into four distinct yet interconnected phases. 'These four phases aren't isolated; they overlap and transition sequentially over time,' Li said in an interview with the Post on Tuesday. 'Specific molecular mechanisms trigger the next phase while suppressing others – mirroring the concept of mutual promotion and restraint, known as xiang sheng xiang ke in traditional Chinese medicine. In the team's work published in March in the peer-reviewed journal NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics, Li explained how the four phases – named 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B – each reflected a unique metabolic state. The researchers' model of mutual promotion and restraint in the metabolic cycle of wild yeast. Photo: Handout Similarly, in traditional Chinese medicine, the 'four symbols', or si xiang, theory provides a way to understand the natural world and the human body using four main principles. It's all about finding balance between passive and active forces – yin and yang – to keep everything healthy and harmonious. Between the yin and yang, there are two transitional phases, bringing the total to four.
RTHK
3 days ago
- RTHK
Chinese meteorologist wins WMO's highest honour
Chinese meteorologist wins WMO's highest honour The award for Xu is considered the equivalent of the Nobel prize to the WMO community. Photo courtesy of World Meteorological Organization. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on Thursday that its highest honour, the International Meteorological Organization (IMO) Prize, will be awarded this year to Xu Jianmin, a pioneering figure in the development of China's meteorological satellite system and a leading force in satellite data application and services. Xu is scheduled to receive the award at the WMO Executive Council meeting in 2026. The IMO Prize recognises exceptional achievements in meteorology, hydrology, and contributions to international cooperation in these fields. An academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering since 1997, Xu played a central role in designing the foundational architecture of the FengYun (FY) Meteorological Satellite Ground System. He was instrumental in solving critical challenges in FY satellite navigation, advancing key technologies for satellite-based products, and expanding the global use of FY satellite data in observation, forecasting, and meteorological services, according to the WMO. (Xinhua)
South China Morning Post
7 days ago
- South China Morning Post
China's Yellow River will be choked by ice jams due to global warming, study finds
Ice jams will become more frequent in the Yellow River's estuary by the end of this century, hitting Chinese coastal cities such as those in eastern Shandong province, according to a new study. Advertisement When warmer weather arrives in late winter and early spring, upstream ice begins to break apart and drift downstream. This ice then reaches colder downstream areas, where it can refreeze and accumulate, forming ice jams. The localised hazard can be highly destructive. Flooding can occur behind the blockage, while a sudden ice jam collapse can release a torrent of ice and water, damaging downstream communities , wildlife and infrastructure. 'By integrating historical records with climate projections, we provide compelling evidence that climate warming is not only driving a long-term decline in ice jam flood frequency but also shifting the geographic distribution of hotspots downstream,' the scientists wrote. Researchers from Jiangsu Normal University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Bern in Switzerland published their findings – based on analysis of the dynamics of ice jam floods in the lower Yellow River over the past 160 years – in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances last week. Advertisement The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world. While it is considered the cradle of Chinese civilisation, the river is also called 'China's Sorrow' for its history of devastating floods that took millions of lives in the last two centuries.
