Home Explore Help
Sign In
eric
/
MaineEdu
1
0
Fork 0
Files Issues 0 Pull Requests 0 Wiki
Branch: master
Branches Tags
MaineEdu
/
Original
/
hua.umf.maine.edu
/
China
/
astronomy
/
tianpage
/
0009H_comets6563w.html

0009H_comets6563w.html 4.7 KB
Permalink History Raw

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162 
  1. <HTML>
    2. 

  2. 	<HEAD>
    3. 

  3. <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8">
    4. 

  4. <meta name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="TRUE">
    5. 

  5. 		<META Name= "description" Content = "Early comet sightings and descriptions - brief introduction to Chinese Astronomy and the Beijing Ancient Observatory.">
    6. 

  6. 		<META NAME="distribution" content="Global">
    7. 

  7. 		<META NAME="rating" content="Safe For Kids">
    8. 

  8. 		<META NAME="copyright" content="Marilyn Shea">
    9. 

  9. 		<meta name="Author" content="Marilyn Shea">
    10. 

  10. 		<META NAME="classification" content="Education">
    11. 

  11. 		<META Name = "keywords" Content = "China, comets, Chinese, astronomy, Tian Wen Tai, ancient observatory, Marilyn Shea">
    12. 

  12. 		<TITLE>Comets 彗星 -Chinese Astronomy -中国天文学</TITLE>
    13. 

  13. 		
    14. 

  14. 

  15. 	</HEAD>
    16. 

  16. 

  17. <BODY bgcolor=#333333 text=#FEFAFA link=#FFFFFF vlink=#FFFFFF alink=#FF0000>
    18. 

  18. 		<CENTER>
    19. 

  19. <TABLE border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="200">
    20. 

  20. <TR>
    21. 

  21. 	<TD width="80" align="center"><A href="0008H_6703bw.html"><IMG src="../tianimage/previous.gif" height="30" width="30" border="0" title="Previous"></A></TD>
    22. 

  22. 	<TD width="80" align="center"><A href="../index.html#9"><IMG src="../tianimage/home.gif" height="30" width="30" border="0" title="Home"></A></TD>
    23. 

  23. 	<TD width="80" align="center"><A href="0010H_sunspots6563w.html"><IMG src="../tianimage/next.gif" height="30" width="30" border="0" title="Next"></A></TD>
    24. 

  24. </TR>
    25. 

  25. </TABLE>
    26. 

  26. </CENTER>
    27. 

  27. 		<center>
    28. 

  28. 			<table border="8" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="4" bgcolor="black">
    29. 

  29. 				<tr>
    30. 

  30. 					<td bgcolor="black"><A href="0010H_sunspots6563w.html"><IMG src="../tianimage/0009H_comets6563w.jpg" height="600" width="600" border=0 title="Comets"></a></td>
    31. 

  31. 

  32. 				</tr>
    33. 

  33. 			</table>
    34. 

  34. 		</center>
    35. 

  35. 		
    36. 

  36. 		<CENTER>
    37. 

  37. 			<h1><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Comets - 彗星<br>
    38. 

  38. 				</font></h1>
    39. 

  39. 			<div align="center">
    40. 

  40. 					<table width="60%" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0" align="center">
    41. 

  41. 						<tr>
    42. 

  42. 							<td><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Comets (彗星 Huìxīng) have been observed and recorded in China since the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC).  The set of comet illustrations shown above is from a silk book (帛书 Bóshū) written during the western Han period. The different shapes and characteristics of the comet tails were outlined and on some of the comets, differences in the appearance of the core of the comet were noted.</font>
    43. 

  43. 							<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">From the Yin period of the Shang Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, comets were observed and recorded more than 360 times. In 635 BC, Chinese astronomers pointed out that the comet tail always pointed away from the sun.</font></p>
    44. 

  44. 							<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">From the Spring and Autumn Period to 1910 at the end of the Qing Dynasty, 31 observations of Halley's Comet were recorded according to the Beijing Ancient Observatory.  Other sources put the number at 30.  </font></p>
    45. 

  45. 							<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The first verified record of Halley's Comet was made in China in 240 BC.  However, in 613 BC in the Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋 Chūnqiū) of Confucius, reference was made to a comet. It said: &quot;In July, there was a comet that entered the Big Dipper.&quot; (“秋七月，有星孛入于北斗。” qiū qīyuè, yǒu xīngbèi rù yú běi dǒu). This may have been a reference to the appearance of Halley's comet that would have been in 620 BC.</font></p>
    46. 

  46. 							<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Europeans did not record its appearance until much later, but it was Edmond Halley who hypothesized that the comet that astronomers in Europe had recorded over time was actually the same comet returning again and again <em>and</em> predicted that it would return and when. He urged Newton to develop the mathematics that would let him calculate the orbit. With Newton's new calculus Halley was able to show the orbit of the comet and establish the 76 year cycle of its appearance.   The timing of the comet actually varies based on what objects it encounters along the way.  When passing Jupiter, the comet slows and is late arriving at Earth.  Comets are relatively small bodies so they are strongly affected by the gravitational fields of their larger cousins.</font></p>
    47. 

  47. 						</td>
    48. 

  48. 						</tr>
    49. 

  49. 					</table>
    50. 

  50. 					<h1><br>
    51. 

  51. 					</h1>
    52. 

  52. 				</div>
    53. 

  53. 		</CENTER>
    54. 

  54. 		<br>
    55. 

  55. 		<br>
    56. 

  56. <br><HR><P><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/beijing2.html<BR>Last
    57. 

  57. update:  May 2007<BR>&copy; Marilyn Shea, 2007 </FONT></P><HR>
    58. 

  58. <br>
    59. 

  59. </BODY>
    60. 

  60. 

  61. 

  62. </HTML>
    63.