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.
What if a galaxy could exist without the brilliant stars that normally make galaxies visible? Cloud-9 may offer astronomers one of the most intriguing examples yet. Located near the spiral galaxy M94,
What if a galaxy could exist without the brilliant stars that normally make galaxies visible? Cloud-9 may offer astronomers one of the most intriguing examples yet. Located near the spiral galaxy M94, this mysterious hydrogen-rich object appears to contain enormous amounts of gas while producing almost no detectable starlight.
Astrophysicists have completed ASTRID, the largest cosmological hydrodynamic simulation ever run, tracing the universe from the cosmic dawn ($z=99$) down to the present day ($z=0$). By resolving 166 billion particles across 815 million light-years, ASTRID unveils how supermassive black holes co-evolve with galaxies and sculpt the cosmic web.
Scientists have uncovered the first robust evidence of a black hole and neutron star crashing together while orbiting in an oval path, challenging long-standing assumptions about cosmic pair formation.
Most neutron star-black hole pairs are expected to adopt circular orbits long before merging, their orbits slowly rounded out by the constant emission of gravitational waves over millions of years.
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