364 BC - Earliest recorded observation of
sunspots made by Gan De.[1]
28 BC - May 10, Chinese imperial history book, the Book of Han, makes earliest known dated record of sunspots; systematic Chinese observations of sunspots continue thereafter.[2]
185 - The earliest recorded supernova of RCW 86
687 - Chinese make earliest known record of
meteor shower.
1054 - July 4, Chinese astronomers noted the appearance of a guest star, the
supernova which produced the
Crab Nebula,
Messier's M1.
1088 - In his Dream Pool Essays, the polymath Chinese scientist
Shen Kuo (1031–1095) wrote of his findings for the improved meridian measurement between the
pole star and
true north, which was an invaluable concept for aiding
navigation by use of the magnetic
compass. Shen Kuo also argued for spherical celestial bodies by using evidence of
lunar eclipses and solar eclipses, which promoted the
spherical Earth theory and went against the
flat Earth theory.
^"The Observation of Sunspots". UNESCO Courier. 1988. Archived from the original on 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2010-07-14.{{
cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link)