Aurora candidates from the chronicle of Qing dynasty in several degrees of relevance

作者：Kawamura Akito D; Hayakawa Hisashi; Tamazawa Harufumi; Miyahara Hiroko; Isobe Hiroaki

来源：Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, 2016, 68(5): 79.

DOI：10.1093/pasj/psw074

• catalogs
• history and philosophy of astronomy
• planets and satellites: aurorae
• Sun: activity

We present the result of a survey of sunspots and auroras in Qingshigao a draft chronicle of Qing dynasty, for the period of 1559-1912 CE. This is a sequel to a series of works surveying historical sunspot and aurora records, and providing online data to the scientific community regarding the attained results. In total of this Qingshigao survey, we found 111 records of night-sky luminous events with such keywords as vapor ( , qi), cloud ( , yun), and light ( , guang), which may indicate auroras as well as some other phenomena. Similarly, a keyword survey for sunspots was conducted, but no sunspot record was found. In comparison with the aurora records in the western world, we found that 14 of the 111 records have a corresponding record of simultaneous observation in the western world, and hence are very likely to be aurora. In order to investigate the likeliness of the remainder of the record being aurora, we calculated the lunar age and the phase of a solar cycle for each record. After these calculations, a notable fraction of these records clustered near the full moon were to be found statistically doubtful in considerations with atmospheric optics; meanwhile, a few records of observations near the new moon could be more likely interpreted as being auroras, including three records during the Maunder minimum.

• 出版日期2016-10