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Scientific News  Hypotheses Hypotheses about processes in space ASTRONOMERS FIND LINK BETWEEN EARLIEST ILLUSTRATION OF SUNSPOTS IN MEDIEVAL BRITAIN AND AN OBSERVATION OF AURORA IN MEDIEVAL KOREA
ASTRONOMERS FIND LINK BETWEEN
EARLIEST ILLUSTRATION OF SUNSPOTS IN MEDIEVAL BRITAIN AND AN OBSERVATION OF
AURORA IN MEDIEVAL KOREA
Scientists at the University
of Warwick and the University
of Durham have linked the very first
historical illustration of sunspots, recorded in Medieval England in 1182, with
the appearance of the aurora borealis 5 days later in Korea.
Professor F. Richard Stephenson, Department of
Physics, University of Durham,
was the first astronomer to discuss the earliest known drawing of sunspots,
which appears in The Chronicle of John of Worcester and predates the invention
of the telescope by almost 429 years. This medieval chronicle, which covers the
historical period from earliest times to AD 1140, contains a number of records
of celestial phenomena. These include aurorae, comets and meteor showers, as
well as eclipses of the Sun and Moon. One of the most interesting of these
reports is a description of two sunspots that were seen on 8 December in AD 1128
from Worcester in England. In the manuscript that contains this account, the
Latin text is accompanied by a colourful drawing that shows two large sunspots
on the face of the Sun. This drawing appears to be the earliest known
illustration of sunspots. Sunspots were recorded in China more than 1000 years
beforehand but no Chinese drawing depicting discrete solar spots exists until
about AD 1400, and no subsequent illustration of sunspots survives until after
the invention of the telescope, almost 200 years later.
Dr David M. Willis, Space and Astrophysics Group,
Department of Physics, University of Warwick,
noted that the scientific importance of this observation of two sunspots on 8
December in AD 1128 is increased by an observation of the aurora borealis (northern
lights) recorded in Korea only five days after the sunspots, on 13 December.
This observation of a red light in the night-time sky from Songdo (the modern
city of Kaesong) was recorded in the Koryo-sa, the official Korean chronicle of
the time. A delay of five days is typical of the average time delay between the
occurrence of a large sunspot group near the centre of the Sun's face and the
subsequent appearance of the aurora borealis in the night sky at relatively low
latitudes. Observations of this type help scientists to understand how solar
activity has changed during historical time.
For further Information contact:
Further information about the above press release
and all other media services at the University of Warwick can be obtained from:
Peter Dunn,
Press Officer
Public Affairs Office
Senate House
University of Warwick
Coventry, CV4 7AL
West Midlands
Tel: 024 76 523708
Email: puapjd@admin.warwick.ac.uk
Source of the given news and the
copyrights belong to a University
of Warwick
Publishing date: July 31, 2001
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