The document is very finely designed by hand with most of the asterisms are labelled with their names.Īn accurate astronomical document from the early Tang dynasty In particular, three different colours are used for the stars, to distinguish between the three ancient catalogues elaborated during the Warring States period (-476 to -221). A total of more than 1300 stars is distributed in 257 different Chinese constellations, according to the very long Chinese astronomical tradition described in earlier star catalogues. ![]() It is followed by the detailed star atlas consisting of 12 rectangular panels along the celestial equator ending with a circular map of the polar region. The first section is an uranomancy text containing drawings of clouds of different shapes. The beginning of the scroll is missing and the document is divided in two different parts. The document is a scroll of very thin Chinese paper of total length 3940 mm and width 244 mm, inscribed on one side only. The scientific analysis was initiated in 2004 when the chart was on display at the British Library and has benefited from the help of the International Dunhuang Project, a multi-country program to digitise and distribute worldwide the content of this unique collection. The chart is also exceptionally on display at the British Library till 18 August 2009 to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy. The chart is presented in the June 11th issue of the Nature magazine and the detailed historical and scientific study is reported in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. It is the oldest known star chart from any civilisation and the first pictorial representation of the classical Chinese constellations. Using precise mathematical projection methods, it preserves a remarkable accuracy of 1.5 to 4° for the brightest stars. The first detailed scientific analysis of the star chart performed by these scientists reveals that it contains more than 1300 stars and was composed around the years +(649-684). Sealed in an hidden cave around the 11th century, these manuscripts, mostly religious Buddhist texts, were miraculously preserved thanks to a dry climate. ![]() The document, called the Dunhuang chart, now kept at the British Library in London, is a complete star atlas which was found among the 40 000 other manuscripts discovered at the Buddhist Mogao cave complex, on the Chinese Silk road in 1900. A spectacular document relating to the history of astronomy is brought back to light by a recent study from a group of scholars led by Jean-Marc Bonnet-Bidaud from the CEA Astrophysical Department.
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