This ancient astronomical observatory was built early in the Ming Dynasty. It consists of several halls, a garden and an observation platform. Looking across the garden, you can see the huge bronze intruments on the top of the observation platform. Two rooms contain museum exhibits which include observation records about Halley's comet made in 613 BC, and of a supernova in 1054. That supernova became what we now call the crab nebula.

This armillary sphere, held aloft by four dragons, is in the courtyard in the middle of the observatory buildings. The rod through the center points to the celestial north pole, and rings within it represent things like the celestial equator and the ecliptic, or the apparent path of the sun through the sky. Using calibration on these rings, astronmers could determine the co-ordinates of celestial objects and track their movements.

Various sundials were on display in the garden. Some told not only the time of day but the time of year as well. This is a part of a very large sundial used to determine latitude and longitude. The channels were cut into the surface where the sun's shadow would fall, and were filled with water. When the instrument was set up, it could be adjusted so the top of the water and the surface of the sundial were even, thus assuring that it was perfectly level.

There are eight bronze instruments on the roof of the observation platform. Although they are not the original complement of the observatory, they are all authentic Ming and Qing Dynasty devices used to plot the locations of celestial objects. The Chinese made extremely accurate observations using these naked eye instruments. The dot visible under the streetlight is the sun, which seemed an appropriate inclusion.

This close up shows some detail of the base of one of the armillary spheres on the observation platform. Not only were these instruments meticulouly calibrated, they were also works of art.

Lee and Deanna pose on the observatory roof, surrounded by centuries old instruments. On the left is a sextant, which measures angular distances between celestial objects, on the right is a theodolite, which determines the celestial co-ordinates of an object by measuring altitude above the horizon, and degrees around the horizon, and at the end is another armillary sphere.

Copyright 2005, Dr. Lee Williams

Last Modified: 15 February 2005

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