Archeoastronomy – Armillary Sphere and Horolgoe in China

Through out the history of China, people are curious about how Sun, Moon and stars move according to Earth, and astronomers have created different tools to assist observing stars.

Armillary Sphere

The earliest well-known tool is Armillary Sphere (Chinese: 浑天仪), which is designed by Zhang Heng in 117 AD and completed in 125 AD. An Armillary Sphere is a spherical model of object in the sky, with Earth centered in the middle of the sphere. (At that time, Chinese people still believe in geocentric.) The spherical model contains multiple rings and each ring is movable. Different ring represent different solar objects –  the 28 Mansions (28 important constellations in Chinese Myth), north/south pole, the equator, the ecliptic, the 24 Solar Terms (Chinese: 节气). There are two water clock in the Armillary Sphere. In the bottom of each water clock, there is a hole.  As water leaking from the hole, the Armillary Sphere will gradually move by itself.

Zhang Heng, pic source

Armillary Sphere, pic source

Horologe – Equatorial Sundial

According to the Science Civilizations in China, the emergence and improvement of Horologe happened both in Eastern and Western at almost the same time. However, there is some difference between the Horologes made by the east and by the west.  The horologes designed by the Western Countries are Vertical Sundial and Flat Sundial. On the other hand, the horologes designed by China are the Equatorial Sundial. Although each type of sundials has its own advantage, Joseph Needham mentioned in Science Civilization in China that Equatorial Sundial has always been the most accurate one.

Chinese Equatorial Sundial, pic source

Historical Astronomers in Context – Nicholas Copernicus

Nicholas Copernicus

Nicholas Copernicus was important to astronomy because his heliocentric theory. At that time, people believed that Earth is the center of the universe and all the other astro bodies were revolving around Earth. The appearance of the heliocentric theory from Nicholas Copernicus helped people correct their false assumption, which hugely helped scientists at that time to understand the universe better. 

Nicholas Copernicus – pic source

Major Historical Event at that Time

1. Christopher Columbus discovered a new continent – America in 1492

2. King Ferdinand II of Aragon married Isabella I of Castile in 1479. The Aragon and the Castile combined together to form a new nation – Spain

Major Historical Figure at the Time

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known by his first name Michelangelo, is one of the most famous sculptor in the world. His work David is considered as the most balanced and beautiful men sculptor in the world. 

Michelangelo – pic source

David – pic source

Brief Reflection

I think it is interesting as learning this context, I can understand how people thought in the past and how understood the planet and world they lived step by step. To some extent the process people understand the world is like the growth process of a child. When I was child, I also once believed that the earth is the center of the world and no matter the sun or the moon were revolving around the earth. And when I grew older, I gradually understood that the earth is only a normal planet among the numerous planets and stars. Therefore, I think this context is pretty interesting.