Solar eclipse is an abnormal phenomenon that people are most concerned about In the Xia Dynasty, China attached great importance to the observation of astronomical phenomena, and "observing time" became a national policy. According to Shangshu Xia Shu, during the Xia Dynasty, the officials in charge of observing the astronomical phenomena failed to predict the solar eclipse in time, so that when this kind of solar eclipse appeared, people didn't know what strange things happened, panicked and made a mess. This solar eclipse occurred around 2 137 BC, 10/0/22 October, which is recognized by astronomers as the earliest solar eclipse record in the world.
Comet is a small cloud-like celestial body orbiting the sun, with a long tail, commonly known as a broom star. In ancient China, there were dozens of appellations such as Boli and Yaoxing. The comet map of Mawangdui in the Western Han Dynasty shows that China had a serious observation record more than 2,000 years ago. About 700 BC, there was a record of comet observation in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, China (unearthed in Anyang, Henan). Among periodic comets, there is a bright comet called "Halley's Comet", which appears once every 75 years and is named after the British astronomer Halley discovered its orbit in the17th century. In fact, this star has already been discovered in China. According to the book "Spring and Autumn Annals", "In the autumn and July of the fourteenth year of Duke Wen of Lu, there was a star in Beidou". In the 14th year of Lu Wengong, 6 13 BC. It is 2600 years ago, which is the earliest record of Halley's comet in the world. The earliest record of this comet in the West is 66 AD, which is more than 670 years later than that in China.
Meteors are the dispersion of asteroids, which revolve around the sun along a certain orbit. When the earth approaches their orbit, the air around the earth rubs against these loose celestial bodies, making them generate heat and glow, which looks like a meteor shower on the ground. The Chronicle of Bamboo Records contains ten years of Xia Jie (about 1580 BC), which is the earliest meteor shower record in the world. According to the "Seven Years of the Spring and Autumn Period", it is recorded that: "In the seven years of Lu Zhuang Gong, the stars were not seen at night in summer and April, and the stars fell like rain at night." The seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu was 687 BC, which has been more than 2,600 years. This is the earliest record of Lyra meteor shower in the world, and it also opened the observation and record of meteor shower in ancient China.
Sunspots are black spots that often appear in the photosphere. They are one of the first observed solar phenomena and the most basic signs of solar activity. "Han Shu Wu Xing Xia" records that in the Western Han Dynasty, "the first year of peace (the first 28 years), March has passed, the sunrise is yellow, there is black gas, as big as money, and it lives in the center of Japan". It explains the time, shape, size and location of sunspots, which was more than 2000 years ago. This sunspot record is recognized as the earliest clear sunspot record in the world. The earliest record of sunspots in Europe was in 807 AD, which was mistaken for the transit of Mercury.
Some stars were originally dim, but at some point, their brightness suddenly increased. Those whose brightness increases by thousands to millions of times are called nova, and those whose brightness increases by 100 to hundreds of millions of times are called supernovae. After that, their brightness gradually weakened, and after several years or even longer, their brightness returned to its original state, as if they had made a guest appearance in the starry sky for a while. Therefore, nova and supernova are also called "guest stars". In China, as early as the Oracle bone inscriptions in the Yin Dynasty, there were records of new stars, and the systematic records found in ancient books began in the Han Dynasty. "Han Shi Tian Wen Zhi" records: "June of the first year of stupidity. Guest stars meet in the room. " This is the earliest nova record in China. The appearance of this new star was recorded in 134 BC, both in Chinese and foreign history, but there is no date, month and location in western languages. "The History of the Later Han Dynasty and Tian" records: "In October of two years, I returned to the sea. Guest stars come out of the south gate. As big as half a feast, all five colors are happy. Fine and small, until June of the following year. " This record was recorded in 185, which is the earliest supernova record in the world.
In addition, the Chronicle of Han Dynasty recorded in detail an aurora that appeared in 32 BC 10124 October, which is the earliest and most accurate aurora observation record in the world.