Get to know Zijinshan Observatory
Posted by ugfanfan on September 23rd, 2014
Located in the Purple Hill Scenic Area in the east suburb of Nanjing, Purple Hill Observatory is one of the most famous and the earliest observatories in China. Finished in 1934, it is milestone in the development of Chinese astronomy. This significant observatory symbolizes the threshold of Chinese modern astronomy. The white domed buildings are shining brightly in the sun when it is seen from afar.
The rare apparatus, the splendid architectures and the abundant books gave the observatory a great reputation at the beginning. The 60-centimeter-caliber and the 20-centimeter-caliber reflecting telescopes and the refracting telescope were both made in Germany. And the meridian transit was made Swiss. These equipments, which are still housed in the observatory till now, were almost the most advanced apparatuses at that time. Now, more modern and advanced facilities are equipped in the observatory for observing the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars and the satellites. Additionally, astronomic experiments will also be done here.
The observatory now acts like a museum to house many ancient astronomical apparatus made of bronze, such as Gnomon, Armillary Sphere, Simplified Armillary Sphere, Celestial Globe and Altazimuth, which were left hundreds years ago. With a history of more than 3000 years, Gnomon was used to measure the shadow of the sun and to determine the number of days of a year and the solar terms. China is the first country to know that there are 365.25 days in a year. Designed by Zhang Heng nearly two thousand years ago, Armillary Sphere was used to determine the position of the stars. It is also an exquisite craftwork with four sides of the base cast with special flowers and animals and four poles engraved with entwining dragons. The one on display is a copy of the original one. Designed by astronomer Guo Shoujing in 14th century, Simplified Armillary Sphere is the improvement of Armillary Sphere. As its name indicates, the convenience of operation and the precision of determination were both improved.
The Observatory has made great achievements in the research of astronomy. Four comets were discovered by Chinese astronomers, among which the Ge Wang Comet was the first comet named with the surname of a Chinese discoverer. In addition, more than 30 new changeable stars and numbers of asteroids have been discovered successively, 100 of which were numbered by the International Minor Planet Center. Besides the astronomic research, applications studies also falls into the field of the Observatory. Extensive links with other astronomical institutions at home and abroad have also been established.
The observatory itself also consists of the Nanjing Astronomy Museum, which is the first in China. Accurate data and full pictures are displaying in the three exhibition halls of the museum. In the museum you can learn the smallness of human beings and the immensity of the universe.
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