Earliest Datable Records of Aurora-like Phenomena in the Astronomical Diaries from Babylonia

Hisashi Hayakawa, Yasuyuki Mitsuma, Yusuke Ebihara, Akito Davis Kawamura, Hiroko Miyahara, Harufumi Tamazawa, Hiroaki Isobe
(Submitted on 16 Nov 2016)

The Astronomical Diaries from Babylonia (ADB) are an excellent source of information of natural phenomena, including astronomical ones, in pre-Christ era because it contains the record of highly continuous and systematic observations. In this article we present results of a survey of aurora-like phenomena in ADB, spanning from BCE 652 to BCE 61. We have found 9 records of aurora-like phenomena. Philological and scientific examinations suggest 5 of them can be considered as likely candidate for aurora observations. They provide unique information about the solar and aurora activities in the first millennium BCE.

Comments: 2016/11/16 Accepted publication in Earth, Planets and Space
Subjects: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR); History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph); Space Physics (physics.space-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:1611.05197 [astro-ph.SR] (or arXiv:1611.05197v1 [astro-ph.SR] for this version)
Submission history
From: Harufumi Tamazawa
[v1] Wed, 16 Nov 2016 09:46:39 GMT (541kb)
https://arxiv.org/abs/1611.05197