Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences

The Korean Space Science Society (한국우주과학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Daylight Observations of Venus with Naked Eye in the Goryeosa

  • Received : 2017.01.13
  • Accepted : 2017.02.20
  • Published : 2017.03.15
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the observations of Venus in daytime that are recorded in the Goryeosa (History of the Goryeo Dynasty, A.D. 918-1392). There are a total of 167 accounts of such observations in this historical book, spanning a period of 378 yr (from 1014 to 1392). These include six accounts where the days of the observation are not specified and two accounts where the phase angles are outside the calculation range of the equation used in our study. We analyze the number distribution of 164 accounts in 16 yr intervals covering the period from 1023 to 1391. We find that this distribution shows its minimum at around 1232, when the Goryeo dynasty moved the capital to the Ganghwa Island because of the Mongol invasion, and its maximum at around 1390, about the time when the dynasty fell. In addition, we calculate the azimuth, altitude, solar elongation, and apparent magnitude of Venus at sunset for 159 observations, excluding the eight accounts mentioned above, using the DE 406 ephemeris and modern astronomical algorithms. We find that the average elongation and magnitude of Venus on the days of those accounts were ${\sim}40^{\circ}$ and -4.5, respectively, whereas the minimum magnitude was -3.8. The results of this study are useful for estimating the practical conditions for observing Venus in daylight with the naked eye and they also provide additional insight into the corresponding historical accounts contained in the Goryeosa.

Keywords

References

  1. Ahn SH, Park JW, At what time a day begins in the Joseon dynasty, J. Astron. Space Sci. 21, 505-528 (2004). https://dx.doi.org/10.5140/jass.2004.21.4.505
  2. Ahn YS, Sim GJ, Song DJ, Han BS, Yang HJ, Arrangement of chronological tables on the Goryeo dynasty (Korean Studies Information Co. Ltd., Paju, 2009).
  3. Bretagnon P, Francou G, Planetary theories in rectangular and spherical variables - VSOP 87 solutions, Astron. Astrophys. 202, 309-315 (1988).
  4. Ellis EL, Naked-eye Observations of Venus in Daylight, J. British Astron. Assoc. 105, 311-312 (1995).
  5. Francou G, Bergeal L, Chapront J, Morando B, New ephemerides for the sun, moon, and planets, Astron. Astrophys. 128, 124-139 (1983).
  6. Han BS, Arrangement of Chronological Tables on Korea: Volume II (Yeungnam University Press, Gyeongsan, 2001).
  7. Hilton JL, Improving the visual magnitudes of the planets in the Astronomical Almanac. I. Mercury and Venus, Astron. J. 129, 2902-2906 (2005). https://dx.doi.org/10.1086/430212
  8. Hogg HS, Halley and the Brightness of Venus, J. Roy. Astron. Soc. Canada 41, 163-165 (1947).
  9. Kim SG, Yoon SG, Cheonmunryucho (Daeryuhakdang, Seoul, 2009).
  10. Kronk GW, Cometography: A Catalog of Comets, Volume 1: Ancient - 1799 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999).
  11. Lang KR, Astrophysical Data: Planets and Stars (Springer-Verlag, New York, 2012).
  12. Lee KW, Ahn YS, Yang HJ, Study on the system of night hours for decoding Korean astronomical records of 1625-1787, Adv. Space Res. 48, 592-600 (2011). https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2011.04.002
  13. Lee KW, Ahn YS, Mihn BH, Verification of calendar days of the Joseon dynasty, J. Korean Astron. Soc. 45, 85-91 (2012). https://dx.doi.org/10.5303/JKAS.2012.45.4.85
  14. Lee KW, Mihn BH, Ahn YS, Korean Historical Records on Halley's Comet Revisited, J. Astron. Space Sci. 31, 215-223 (2014). https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2011.04.002
  15. Lee KW, Mihn BH, Ahn YS, Ahn SH, Analysis of the lunar eclipse records from the Goryeosa, J. Korean Astron. Soc. 49, 163-173 (2016). https://dx.doi.org/10.5303/JKAS.2016.49.4.163
  16. Lee MU, Hu YS, Park KS, Seoun-Gwan Ji: treatise on the bureau of astronomy, (Somyeong Press, Seoul, 2003).
  17. Meeus J, Astronomical Algorithms, 2nd edition (Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, 1998).
  18. Morrison LV, Stephenson FR, Historical values of the Earth's clock error ΔT and calculation of eclipses, J. Hist. Astron. 35, 327-336 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1177/002182860403500305
  19. Naurical Almanac Office, The astronomical almanac for the year 2015 and its companion (US Government Printing Office, US, 2014).
  20. Park C, La D, Confirmation and historical consequences of astronomical records in Samguksagi, Korean J. Hist. Sci. 16, 167-202 (1994).
  21. Peck AL, Daylight observation of Venus and Jupiter, Nature 146, 162 (1940). https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/146162d0
  22. Peters WT, The appearances of Venus and Mars in 1610, J. Hist. Astron. 15, 211-214 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1177/002182868401500306
  23. Russell HN, On the visibility of Jupiter by daylight, Publ. American Astron. Soc. 3, 217-218 (1918).
  24. Sampson RD, The visibility of Jupiter during the day, J. Roy. Astron. Soc. Canada 97, 144 (2003).
  25. Simon JL, Bretagnon P, Chapront J, Chapront-Touze M, Francou G, et al., Numerical expressions for precession formulae and mean elements for the moon and the planets, Astron. Astrophys. 282, 663-683 (1994).
  26. Standish EM, Mewhall XX, Williams JG, Folkner WF, JPL Planetary and Lunar Ephemeris [CD-ROM] DE200, DE405, DE406 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997).
  27. Stephenson FR, Yau KKC, Far Eastern observations of Halley's comet - 240 BC to AD 1368, J. Br. Interplanet. Soc. 38, 195-216 (1985).
  28. Stephenson FR, Green DA, Historical Supernovae and their Remnants (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004).
  29. Urban SE, Seidelmann PK, Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, 3rd edition (University Science Books, Mill Valley, 2012).
  30. Weaver HF, The visibility of stars without optical acid, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 59, 232-243 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1086/125956
  31. Yang HJ, Choi G, A study of correlation between historical astronomical records and political events, Publ. Korean Astron. Soc. 27, 411-418 (2012). https://dx.doi.org/10.5303/PKAS.2012.27.5.411