A Greek star catalog from the dawn of astronomy, spilled

What’s Happening

Not gonna lie, Researchers are using X-rays to discover invisible markings left on ancient parchment containing information from the Greek astronomer Hipparchus.

News Physics A Greek star catalog from the dawn of astronomy, spilled A hidden astronomical catalog has been uncovered in a particle accelerator experiment A lamp illuminates Syriac writing on a parchment from the 9th or 10th century A. , beneath which hides erased text about the ancient sky. (and honestly, same)

Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory By Adam Mann at 1:00 pm this: via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Surrounded and tangles of cables, two researchers point to bright orange squiggles on a computer screen.

The Details

The squiggles are a poem written in ancient Greek about heavenly phenomena, seen for the first time in nearly a millennium and a half. “Theres an appendix which includes coordinates of the stars discussed in the poem, and then little sketches of the star maps,” says Minhal Gardezi, a physicist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

For our We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. Gardezi is part of a team working at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, Calif.

Why This Matters

The maps originated in a catalog created astronomer Hipparchus of Nicaea around 150 B. And were copied down sometime in the 6th century A. Transcribed onto animal hide, the poem and maps were later erased and overwritten with new text.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

Key Takeaways

• Hide to powerful X-rays from SLAC’s particle accelerator, the invisible writing is once again spilled.
• Direct knowledge from the ancient world is scarce.
• Most Greek scholars wrote on papyrus, a material that rarely survives the centuries.

The Bottom Line

Most Greek scholars wrote on papyrus, a material that rarely survives the centuries. Almost none of Hipparchus’ writing has been found, though secondhand sources indicate that he created one of the earliest star catalogs and helped invent trigonometry.

Are you here for this or nah?