Earliest datable records of aurora-like phenomena in the astronomical diaries from Babylonia.

Akito Davis Kawamura,Yasuyuki Mitsuma,Hiroaki Isobe,Hisashi Hayakawa,Yusuke Ebihara,Harufumi Tamazawa,Hiroko Miyahara

doi:10.1186/s40623-016-0571-5

Abstract

The astronomical diaries from Babylonia (ADB) are excellent sources of information of natural phenomena, including astronomical ones, in pre-Christ era because it contains the record of highly continuous and systematic observations. In this article, we present results of a survey of aurora-like phenomena in ADB, spanning from BCE 652 to BCE 61. We have found nine records of aurora-like phenomena. Philological and scientific examinations suggest that five of them can be considered as likely candidate for aurora observations. They provide unique information about the solar and aurora activities in the first millennium BCE. Graphical abstract.

Highlights

The solar activity has been monitored by telescopic observations of sunspots for more than 400 years (Zolotova and Ponyavin 2015; Vaquero and Vázquez 2009; Owens 2013)
In our survey of the astronomical diaries from Babylonia (ADB), we found nine records that can be considered as the candidates for aurora observations
We surveyed aurora-like records in ADB spanning from BCE 652 to BCE 61

Summary

Introduction

The solar activity has been monitored by telescopic observations of sunspots for more than 400 years (Zolotova and Ponyavin 2015; Vaquero and Vázquez 2009; Owens 2013). Records in historical documents provide another way to investigate the solar activity in the pre-telescopic era (Willis et al 1996; Vaquero and Vázquez 2009; Usoskin et al 2007; Usoskin 2013; Hayakawa et al 2016b, c, submitted). Chinese official histories (Yau and Stephenson 1988; Yau et al 1995; Xu et al 2000; Hayakawa et al 2015, 2016d, submitted; Kawamura et al 2016) and Korean official histories (Lee et al 2004) are especially suitable source documents for the purpose of studying the long-term variation because these sources provide wellformatted records based on continuous observations by professional astronomers (Keimatsu 1976; Hayakawa et al 2015)

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion