Chinese astronomy

Astronomy as practiced in historical China

6 dated entries naming Chinese astronomy, drawn from 6 separate years between 364 BCE and 1072 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

JSON Wikipedia article Wikidata Q1268276

4th century BC

364 BCEThe Chinese astronomer Gan De from the State of Qi reportedly discovers the moon Ganymede, belonging to Jupiter, and makes the earliest known sunspot observations.source

1st century BC

12 BCEHalley's Comet makes an appearance, as recorded by Chinese Astronomers for about 56 days. Written in the Annal of Han as "In the first year of Yuan Yen (12 B.C.), in the Autumn the seventh month, on the day Sing Wei, a comet swept in Gemini, went through Pollux and Castor, and passed over Leo and Virgo. It was then behind the sun about six degrees, and appeared in the east earlier in the morning. After thirteen days the comet became an evening star shining in the west, whence it swept over Arcturus, moved slowly to Serpens, and reached Ophiuchus. After 56 days it disappeared in Scorpio."source

2nd century

185A supernova now known as SN 185 is noted by Chinese astronomers in the Astrological Annals of the Houhanshu, making it the earliest recorded supernova.source

10th century

910Ma Yize, Muslim astronomer (approximate date)source

11th century

1005Ma Yize, Muslim astronomer of the Song dynastysource
1072Shen Kuo, Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman, is appointed as the head official for the Bureau of Astronomy – where he begins his work with the colleague Wei Pu on accurately plotting the orbital paths of the stars, planets, and moon three times a night for a continuum of five years.source