An ancient Chinese text from 709 BCE described the sun as "completely yellow above and below."
Sandeep K S
Dec 6, 2025
1 min read
Researchers solve a 2,700-year-old puzzle by relocating the earliest recorded total solar eclipse of 709 BCE. Modern calculations and historical geography reveal Earth's faster rotation and the sun's reawakening, offering new insights into ancient celestial events.
Ancient Chinese manuscript documenting the earliest recorded total solar eclipse in 709 BCE, as described in the Spring and Autumn Annals.
A passage from the "Hanshu" (Book of Han), a Chinese historical text, detailing the 709 BCE solar eclipse with a description likened to the solar corona. Credit: National Archives of Japan.
China's FAST telescope—the largest on Earth—has scoured the archives to find 19 pulsars missed by previous searches, including rare "transient" ghosts.
Pulsars (spinning neutron stars) are lighthouses of the cosmos. Most are found near the Galactic Plane, where stars are dense.
In space, fire doesn't rise. It forms a ghostly sphere that is harder to detect and harder to kill. New research aims to tame flames for the journey to Mars.
On Earth, hot air is lighter than cold air. It rises, pulling fresh oxygen in from below. This convection gives fire its familiar teardrop shape and yellow color (soot).
Jupiter's outermost moon is a battered, icy archive of the early solar system. New thermal imaging is finally peeling back its scarred surface to reveal what lies beneath.
Using the ALMA telescope, researchers analyzed thermal data to peer into the top few centimeters of Callisto's surface (regolith).
Comments