Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics
VOLUME 2, NUMBER 6
ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Washington, D. C.
1958 Publications of the Astrophysical Observatory
This series, Smithsonian Contribution* to Astrophysics, was inaugurated in 1956 to provide a proper communication for the results of research con- ducted at the Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution. Its purpose is the "increase and diffusion of knowledge" in the field of astrophysics, with particular emphasis on problems of the sun, the earth, and the solar system. Its pages are open to a limited number of papers by other investigators with whom we have common interests. Another series is Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory. It was started In 1900 by the Observatory's first director, Samuel P. Langley, and has been published about every 10 years since that date. These quarto volumes, some of which are still available, record the history of the Observatory's researches and activities. Many technical papers and volumes emanating from the Astrophysical Observatory have appeared in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Among these are Smithsonian Physical Tables, Smithsonian Meteorological Tables, and World Weather Records. Additional information concerning these publications may be secured from the Editorial and Publications Division, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. G. FEED L. WHIPPLE, Director, Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Institution. Cambridge, Mass.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. 8. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 30 cents Contents
Page A New Catalog of Ancient Novae: Hsi Ts6-tsung 109
Historical Records of Meteor Showers in China, Korea, and Japan: Susumu Imoto and Ichiro Hasegawa 131
in
A New Catalog of Ancient Novae1 By Hsi Ts&-tsung: [This translation is the result of the combined efforts Recently, after searching through the Twenty- of certain astronomers and Chinese scholars who prefer four Histories, Wen-hsien fung-k*ao, Tung-chih, to remain anonymous. Their help is gratefully ac- knowledged. Particular thanks go to Dr. Cecilia and the studies of institutions known as Hui-yao Payne-Gaposchkin, whose sustained interest in the of various dynasties, and checking with various paper was of major assistance in its publication.] histories and various Japanese astronomical The study of novae is of great significance in materials, we rechecked Lundmark's catalog stellar evolution and radio astronomy. Can the in detail. We concluded that the following outbursts of novae and supernovae be radio stars are not novae, but comets. point sources? Are the supernovae and slow novae associated with the planetary nebulae in The nova near 17 Virginia on May 3 A. D. 64. the process of evolution? Can a nova explode In Tung-k^ao, the report reads: more than once? Does the outburst of a nova On the 47th cyclical day, 3d month, 7th year of or supernova involve the development of a Yung-p'ing of the Emperor Ming of the Han dynasty, common star into a white dwarf? What is a "guest star" with a ray as long as 2 ch'ih [Chinese the frequency of supernova outbursts in the counterpart of feet] appears at the south of T'ai-wei's Milky Way system? All these questions need Tso Chih-fa [a region near the North Pole that includes many observational data for solution. They UMa], outside Tuan-me'n, lasting 75 days. require not only modern observations, but also The 2-ch*ih long ray could indicate that this historical data from the past. star had a tail, and was therefore a comet. Lundmark (1921) has collected many obser- (The date given corresponds to April 28 A. D. vations of ancient novae and compiled a catalog 64, Western calendar.) that has been used by almost all astronomers. [Translator's note.—The ancient Chinese language But as Vorontsov-Velyaminov (1948) comments: uses 60 combinations of 22 characters (10 representing the Stems of the Heaven, 12 the Branches of the Earth) Lundmark's catalog contains many doubtful points. to denote hour, day, month, or year, in succession: 60 If we rely on this material as the only source for en- days or months or years comprise a cycle. When a riching the poor observational data of the past, it is, at cycle is completed, a new one starts over again, and all best, a very risky matter. these cycles for day, month, and year respectively, go The catalog includes 60 novae that were on independently. No relation between day, month, and year could be shown by this system. For instance, discovered before or during the 19th century. there is the 54th cyclical day of the 2d month. As a This material was drawn mainly from Ma rule, however, this system was used only for the date, Tuan-lin's W$n-hsien ?ung-kKao (section on rarely for the month. In most cases, only the 12 char- "guest stars"). In the past, however, the acters of the Branches of the Earth were used to indi- Chinese often confused novae ("guest stars") cate the hour, so the system could denote the hour with more exactness. The 4th cyclical hour always with comets ("sweeping stars"). Moreover, means the period from 5 a. m. to 7 a. m., the 11th the record in Ma Tuan-lin's treatise is by no cyclical hour, from 7 p. m. to 9 p. m. means complete. Therefore Lundmark's work The modern translation of "sweeping star" is is not entirely accurate or complete. "comet," and of "guest star," "nova"; however, in
1 Translated from Acta Astronomies Sinica, 1955, vol. 3, p. 183. * Commission of the History of Chinese Natural Sciences, Academia Sinica, Peking, China. 109 110 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS Tout order to be more faithful to the original text, the literary The date corresponds to September 7 A. D« translation has been used. 684. The date of perihelion of Halley's Comet The positions of each Chinese star have been indi- is November 26, the same year, and it is very cated after checking different dictionaries and other sources without referring to the catalog position.] often visible two or three months before or after the date of its perihelion. Therefore, the The nova on January 31 A. D. 66. comet described in these Japanese books is Lundmark based his identification on a sen- probably Halley's Comet (in the shape of a tence from Tung-Pao: crescent). On the 25th cyclical day, 12th month, winter, 8th year of Yung-p'ing of Emperor Hsiao Ming of the Han The three novae in the period from April to dynasty, a "guest star" appears in the east. June A. D. 837. But in the Hui-yao of the Eastern Han Ttung-ktao, in the "guest star" section, states: dynasty, one passage records the appearance of On the 21st cyclical day, 3d month, 2d year of a comet, as follows: K'ai-ch'&ng of Wftn-tsung of the T'ang dynasty, a On the 45th cyclical day, 1st month, a "guest star" "guest star" appeared beneath Tung-ching [Gemini]; comes out from ChMen-niu [a region that includes on the 25th cyclical day another one appeared within a Aquila], as long as 8 ch'ih, passing Chien-hsing Tuan-me'n [the southern star of T'ai-wei]. On the [around Sgr], disappearing at the south of Fang 43d cyclical day, 4th month, the one beneath Tung- [$, 6, r, v Sco]. ching disappeared; on the 10th cyclical day, 5th month, The Ku-chin chu of the Tung Han-shu says the other one within Tuan-me'n disappeared. On the 19th cyclical day, a "guest star" like a "sparkling star" that the star stood beside Nan-tou [M, X, p, *, y, f Sgr] and T'ien-yo has passed Tou [n, X, p, «r, r, f Sgr] Chien, Ch'i, Fang, [8 stars in the west of Nan-tou]. crossed Chiao [f, 6, t Vir and Spica] K'ang and arrived at I [22 stars in Hya and Crt]; its flame points east and Williams (1871), Biot (1846), and Lundmark is visible almost 50 days. (1921) consider that these three are novae: The 45th day of the 1st month is February 20, 1. From April 29 to May 21 A. D. 837, nova in Gemini. which is only 20 days after January 31. During 2. From May 3 to June 17 A. D. 837, nova near w Vir. this time, at nine each night, the stars of Tou, 3. On June 26 A. D. 837, nova beside 5, X Sgr. Chien, Ch'i [y, S, e, 0 Sgr], Fang, Chiao, K'ang Recently Shklovsky (1954) and Shajn (Shajn [t, K, X, p, Vir], and I all are in the east, so that and Hase, 1954; Hase and Shajn, 1954) have the nova seen there on January 31 could well stated that the outburst of the nova in Gemini have been the comet mentioned in the Hui-yao. occurred between n, 17, in Gemini; that the Furthermore, the time of perihelion of Halley's nebula IC 443 is the remnant of the nova; and, Comet is January 26 of that year, so this furthermore, that it may be possible to relate "nova" was probably Halley's Comet. In this with the radio point source (a=6h 14m, Fien-wtoi Pao-ku lu, Chu W6n-hsin declares 8= +22° 38'). that the identification of the comet seen in the However, in the Book of Astronomy, a section 6th month, 8th year of Yung-p'ing as Halley's of the Hsin Tangshu, preceding the passage Comet is obviously a mistake, because that about these novae, is another paragraph comet appeared on the 19th cyclical day, 6th recording the passing of a comet: month, and lasted 56 days, from July 29 A. D. On the 43d cyclical day, 2d month, 2d year of K'ai- 65, to September 23, A. D. 65. The interval ch'eng of the T'ang dynasty, there was a "sweeping from September 23 A. D. 65, to January 26 of star" at Wei [0, e Peg and a Aqr] as long as 7 ch'ih, the next year is more than four months. pointing toward Nan-tou. On the 45th cyclical day, at the southwest of Wei, the flame became more glaring. On the 50th cyclical day, at Hsu [/3 Aqr and a Eqlj; The nova on September 12 A. D. 684. on the 58th cyclical day it was 2 chang long, moving It is recorded in both Nihon Shuki and Ihai westward, slightly pointing to the south; on the 59th kiyo: cyclical day, at Wu-nu [e, n, v Aqr], it was 2 chang long, 3 chlih wide; on the 60th cyclical day, it was On the 9th cyclical day, 7th month, 12th year of becoming longer and wider. On the 1st cyclical day, T'ien-wu, a "sweeping star" appears in the northwest; 3d month, at Nan-tou; on the 2d cyclical day it was 5 the length is more than one ehang [ten ch'ih]. chang long, with a forked tail, one pointing to Ti ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS 111
[a, /S, y, i Lib], the other covering Fang. On the 3d cyclical day it was 6 chang long, the tail was not forked and was pointing northwards, at K'ang Ch'i-tu [around Vir]; on the 4th cyclical day it was moving towards the northwest, pointing eastwards; on the 6tb cyclical day it was 8 chang long, at Chang. On the 20th cyclical day, it was 3 ch'ih long, and not visible at the right of Hsuan-yiian [around Leo, and LMi, including Regulus]. A "sweeping star," in most cases, points towards the west when it rises at dawn, and points towards the east when it rises at dusk. No "sweeping star" points towards all directions, offending notoriously as in this case. As stated above, on the 21st. cyclical day a "guest star" appears beneath Tung-ching, and on the 34th cyclical day, 8th month, a "sweeping star" appears at Wei. We can therefore conclude that these three "novae" and the twice-mentioned comet are all a single phenomenon—Halley's Comet, the path of which is shown in figure 1. The date of perihelion of Halley's Comet in this year, A. D. 837, would be about March 1. The nova on January 26 A. D. 962. It is stated in Sung-shih: On the 46th cyclical day, 12th month, 2d year of Chien-lung of the Sung dynasty, a "guest star" appears at the east of T'ien-shih Huan-tsung Je'n-hsing [the area between Lyr and Boo, Dra and Ser] with a slight flame. On the 8th cyclical day, 2d month, it disappears at Ch'i-hsing [Great Dipper: a, 0, y, S, e, f, 17 UMa]. This object was obviously a comet. We shall now correct the mistakes in Lund- mark's catalog, and add the new material we have collected to make this new catalog of 90 ancient novae up to A. D. 1700, presented in table 3. There are probably 11 supernovae (Nos. 17, 27, 30, 45, 57, 60, 67, 68, 70, 82, and 85) in this catalog. Within the past 1000 years there have been 7 supernovae: A. D. 1006, Lupus A. D. 1181, Cassiopeia A. D. 1230, Hercules A. D. 1604, Ophiuchus A. D. 1054, Taurus A. D. 1203, Scorpio A. D. 1572, Cassiopeia This material indicates that the frequency of the occurrence of supernovae within the Milky Way system is greater than the previously ac- cepted estimate and that a new supernova ap- pears every 150 years. Also, some new information pertaining to re- current novae was obtained during the process 112 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS VOL. 2 of compiling this catalog. In his book Voront- of them are found within the zone of ±20° sov-Velyaminov (1948) gives an improved for- and none of them is in the zone ± 70° to ± 90°. mula for the relation between period and range This distribution largely coincides with that of brightness: found in more recent novae data. Also, we found that there are more novae in the south log P= -2.716+0.512 A. of the galactic plane than in the north, in agree- If we let ^1=11 mag. (the average magnitude ment with the fact that the sun lies north of range of novae), we get P=824 years. In our the galactic plane. catalog, the interval between the two novae, TABLE 1.—Apparent distribution of ancient novae in Nos. 12 and 55, occurring in the same region, is galactic latitude 882 years, and the interval between Nos. 5 and 33 is 719 years; these results agree closely with No. No. Total our estimated figure. Therefore, it is very pos- North galactic of South galactic of No. sible that these two cases are examples of re- latitude novae latitude novae of current novae. novae This catalog compiles observations up to A. D. 1700. The advance of Western astron- 0° to +10° 4 0° to-10° 13 17 + 10 + 20 7 -10 -20 4 11 omy since then has provided us with more +20 + 30 3 -20 -30 8 11 complete data. Table 1 presents the apparent + 30 + 40 4 -30 -40 7 11 distribution of ancient novae according to galac- + 40 + 50 4 -40 -50 3 7 tic latitude of 61 novae, 11 supernovae, and 2 + 50 + 60 3 -50 -60 0 3 recurrent novae. This distribution is shown + 60 + 70 1 -60 -70 0 1 + 70 + 90 0 -70 -90 0 0 graphically in figure 2. The novae included in the table are noticeably concentrated in galactic Total. __ 26 Total 35 61 latitude towards the galactic plane; almost half
-2 -3 -40' -50 -60°
FIGURE 2.—The apparent distribution of ancient novae. Solid circles represent novae; crosses, supernovae; dotted circle, recurrent nova; square, south pole of equator. ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS 113 Table 2 shows the distribution of novae as a reference for radio astronomers and inves- according to galactic longitude. The first six tigations in stellar evolution. entries include the novae in that celestial hem- It is a great pleasure to express my thanks isphere in the direction of the galactic nucleus; for the encouragement and help received from the latter six comprise those in the other celes- Messers. Tsu, Yeh, Tai, and Shklovsky, during tial hemisphere of the galactic anticenter. the course of this investigation. This statistical result indicates that there are TABLE 2.—Apparent distribution of ancient novae in more novae in the celestial hemisphere toward galactic longitude the galactic anticenter. However, we should remember that part of the very bright Milky- Galactic Number of Way section below the celestial equator (I from longitude novae 240° to 300°) could not be observed from the Yellow River region (take
4293G9—58- TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae
Nova Text description Source Dale Location R.A. Dec. I b Note* No. a 1
1 7th day, 6th hour (?) . . . Ox bone inscrip- Ca. 1400 B. C. new large star, with tion, from flame. mound of Yin dynasty. 2 8th day (?)... new star. Ox bone inscrip- Ca. 1400 B. C. tion, from mound of Yin dynasty. 3 Spring, 13th year of Ching- Chushu-chi-nien 532 B. C. Aqr 20h40» -10° 5° -31° Also records in Tso- wang of Chou dynasty, [Bamboo chuan, Shih-chi. star appearing at Wu-nu Annals]. [«, n, P Aqr]. 4 33d year of Ch'in-shih Huang-ti, bright star appearing from the west. 5 7th month, 3d year of Kao- Han-shu [History 204 B. C. Near a Bod 14 20 +20 346 + 66 May be a recurrent ti of Han dynasty, star of Han], Wtn- star. sparkling at Ta-chiao hsien t'ung-tfao [Arcturus]. [General Com- mentary on the Documents]. 6 6th month, 1st year of Han-shu. 134 B. C. Sco 15 40 -25 313 + 20 This is the first nova Yuan-kuang era of Han recorded in both dynasty, guest star seen Chinese and West- at Fang [/3, 6, r, v Sco.] ern histories. 7 9th month, 4th year of Han-shu. 77 B. C. UMa 11 36 + 60 103 + 55 Williams and Biot Ytian-fdng of Han, guest have checked this, star in the midst of near NGC 3587. Tzti-kung [area around north pole, including UMa]. 8 4th month, 5th year of Han-shu, 76 B. C. Psc 1 20 + 25 101 -36 Williams, Biot, and Yuan-fSng, candle star T^ung-Wao. Lundmark have seen between K'uei [/3, 5, checked this. t, f, ij, n, v, x And, and «i, T, v,
Nova Text description Source Date Location R. A. Dec. / b Notes No. a 6
17 60th cyclical day, 10th Hou Honshu, Dec. 7 A. D. Between a, 0 14h20- -60° 282° 0° Shklovsky thought month, 2d year of Chung- Tung-k'ao. 185 to July Cen this a supernova, p'ing of later Han, guest A. D. 186. also a radio point star appearing at Nan- source. Near Wolf- mdn [a Cen, 0 Cir], big Rayet star -61° as half of a mat, five 4431. colors and different tem- pers, later a little dimin- ishing, disappearing in the 6th month, next year. 18 41st cyclical day, 9th Chinshu. Nov. 4 17, d Vir 12 + 1 248 + 61 Williams, Biot, and month, 3d year of Huang- A. D. 222. Lundmark have ch'u of Wei dynasty, checked this. guest star seen within Tso Yeh-m«n [at the west of n Virgo]. 19 4th month, summer, 1st Tung-chih, Tung- May A. D. 290. Circle of perpet- Williams stated that year of T'ai-hsi of Chin k'ao. ual appari- this may be in dynasty, guest star at tion. Cassiopeia. Tzti-kung. 20 3d month, 1st year of Chinshu. Apr. A. D. 300. Williams said this is a Yung-k'ang of Chin, a comet, Lundmark witch-star seen at the disagreed. south. 21 5th month, summer, 1st Chinshu, T*ung- June-July Tau 4 20 + 20 144 -18 Williams, Biot, and year of Yung-hsing of chih, T*ung-k'ao. A. D. 304. Lundmark have Chin, guest star staying checked this. at Pi [Hyades; H,P Tau]. 22 8th month, fall, 2d year of T*ung-chih. Sept. A. D. 30o. Tau 4 + 20 141 -22 Yung-hsing, star spar- kling at Mao [Pleiades] and Pi. 23 24th cyclical day, summer, T'ung-chih. June 26 Per 3 20 + 50 114 -4 5th month, 2d year of A. D. 358. Shfing-p'ing of Chin, sweeping star appearing at T'ien-ch'uan [9 stars, north of Musca Borealis, including 7 stars in Per]. 24 2d month, spring, 4th year 'Hung-chih, 7"ung- Mar.-Aug. Among UMa, + 70 111 + 38 Shklovsky and Pare- of T'ai-ho of Chin, guest klao. A. D. 369. Dra, and nago once thought star seen along the west Cam that this nova ap- edge of TzO-kung, disap- peared in Cas, and pearing in 7ti month. might correspond with a radio point source (a=23h21™, 5 = 58°). But dur- ing the process of making this cata- log, we discovered that the west edge of Tzti-kung did not go through Cas. Seven essential stars of the east edge of TzO-kung are o, K, X, 5 Dra and 43, 9, IH» Cam. Thus the strong radio point source (Cas A) can not be considered the re- sult of a nova. 25 3d month, spring, 11th Vung-chih. Apr. A. D. 386. Sgr 18 40 -25 338 -11 Near NGC 6644; year of T'ai-yttan of Lundmark has Chin, guest star at Nan- checked this. tou [|i, X, p, 27 6th month, summer, 1st Wei-shu. Aug. A. D. 396. Tau 4h +20° 141° -22° Could be a supernova. year of Huang-shih of Wei [northern Wei], star sweeping across Mao-t'ou [Pleiades]. . . . Earlier, a large yellow star ap- pearing in the middle of Pi and Mao, for 50 or more days, in the 11th month, the yellow star appears again, without peer under the sky. 28 12th month, 5th year of Wei-shu. A. D. 421. Between Hya ll"20» -20 244 +38 Tai-ch'ang of north Wei, and Crt guest star seen at I [22 stars in Hya and Crt]. 29 9th cyclical day, 5th Wei-shu. June 21 Sco 15 40 -25 313 + 21 month, 2d year of T'ai- A. D. 436. yen of north Wei, star sparkling at Fang [0, 8, T, V SCO]. 30 19th cyclical day, 1st Weishu, Sung-shu. Feb. 26 Gem 6 40 + 20 162 + 9 Chang Yu-chd says month, 3d year of T'ai- A. D. 437. this is possibly a yen of north Wei [14th comet; Shklovsky year of Yuan-chia of Liu says probably a Sung], star seen before supernova. the 9th hour, at north- east beside Ching [Gem], with yellow-red color, big as an orange. 31 1st month, 1st year of Wei-shu. 15 Feb.- Circle of per- Ytian-hsiang of north 15 Mar. petual Wei, guest star appear- A. D. 538. apparition. ing at Tztt-kung. 32 42d cyclical day, 9th Suishu, Tung- Sept. 26 Near a Crt 11 -20 240 + 37 Williams, Biot, and month, 1st year of Pao- chih. A. D. 561. Lundmark have ting of north Chou, guest all checked this, star seen at I. near NGC 3242. 33 49th cyclical day, 6th T'ung-Vao. July 28 Lib 14 40 -15 308 + 38 Biot and Lundmark month, 2d year of A. D. 567. gave this incor- Kuang-ta of Ch'e\n, guest correctly as in star seen at east of Ti June A. D. 568. [a, 0, y, t Libra]. 34 23d cyclical day, 4th Suishu, Tung- Apr. 27 Near a Bod 14 20 + 20 346 + 66 May be a recur- month, 7th year of Tai- chih. A. D. 575. rence of the nova chien of Ch'e'n, star of 204 B. C. sparkling at Ta-chiao [ArcturusJ. 35 Tung-chih,rWin- Nov. 22 a Aql 1st cyclical day, 10th 19 40 + 10 16 -8 month, 8th year of K'ai- hsien fung-Pao. A. D. 588. huang of Sui, star spar- kling at Ch'ien-niu [a Aquila], 36 2d cyclical day, 3d month, Hsin 7*ang-8hu, Apr. 30 Tau 4 + 20 141 -22 13th year of Chdn-kuan Chiu 7*ang-8hu, A. D. 639. of T'ang dynasty, star Tung-Woo. sparkling at Pi and Mao. 37 53d cyclical day, 4th Tung-k'ao. Feb. 24 to Tau 5 + 25 145 -8 month, 2d year of Ch'ien- June 12 ffing of T'ang, sweeping A. D. 667. star at northeast be- tween Wu-ch'e" [a, /S, 0, • Aur] Pi and Mao, dis- appearing on the 12th oyclical day. 38 4th month, 1st year of Chiu Tangshu, May 17 to June Aur 5 20 + 40 136 + 4 Tsung-chang of T'ang, T'ang hui-yao. 14 A. D. 668. sweeping star seen at Wu-ch'6,... star, though sparkling, with a weak flame, ... it disappears after 22 days. 39 43d cyclical day, 3d month, Tang hui-yao, Apr. 20 to May Aur 5 +40 134 + 1 2d year of Yung-ch'un Chiu Tang- 15 A. D. 684. of T'ang, sweeping star shu, Hsin T*ang- at the north of Wu-ch'e" shu, Tung- for 25 days, disappearing Vao. on the 8th oyclical day, 4th month. TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae—Continued Nova Text description Source Date Location R. A. Dec. 6 Notes No. a i 40 18th cyclical day, 10th Tang hui-yao, Nov. 16 to Dec. month, 1st year of Ching- Chiu Tang-shu, 28 A. D. 707. lung of T'ang, sweeping Hsin Tang-shu. star seen in the west, disappearing the filst cyclical day, 11th month, lasting for 43 days. 41 9th cyclical hour, 3d day, Japanese astro- Aug. 19 Near t, « Cas l*40» + 60° 97° -1° 7th month, 6th year of nomical mate- A. D. 722. YOrO, guest star seen be- rials. side Kaku-do [Ko-tao] [a part of Cas, includ- ing Ruchbah], lasting 5 *•* days. 42 24th day, 1st month, 2d Japanese astro- Feb.11 Near $, « Cas 1 20 + 70 93 + 8 year of Shinki, star nomical mate- A. D. 725. sparkling at Hua-kai [a rials. part of Cas, including o> Cas]. 43 27th cyclical hour, 2d day, Japanese astro- Jan. 8 A. D. 745. Between y, v, 1 40 + 40 102 -21 12th month, 16th year nomical mate- r And of TempyO, star spar- rials. kling at Chiang-chun [in- cluding Almach], 44 58th cyclical day, 1st Japanese astro- Feb. 19 A. D. 823. month, 14th year of nomical mate- KOjin, star sparkling in rials. southwest, after 3 days disappearing. 45 (Observations made by Geschichte der A. D. 827. Sco 17± -30± 335 ± -16± In the Lundmark Arabic astronomers.) Astronomic catalog; it may be a supernova. 46 10th month, 3d year, of Hsin Tang-shu, Nov. A. D. 829. CMi 7 20 + 10 176 + 13 Williams, Biot, and T'ai-ho of T'ang, guest Tung-Wao. Lundmark have star seen at Shui-wei checked this. [including T6 f stars Jin CMi]. 47 Extra 1st month, 4th year Hsin T*ang-shu. Mar. 12-21 Per 3 20 + 40 120 -12 of K'ai-ch'gng of T'ang, A. D. 839. sweeping star seen at the northwest of Chtian-she" [6 stars from Mao, in- cluding v Per], disap- pearing on the 52d cycli- cal day. 48 2d month, 5th year of K'ai- Hsin Ttang-8hv, Mar. 20 Peg 23 40 + 20 72 -40 ch'eng of T'ang, sweep- T'ung-k'ao. A. D. 840. ing star in the middle of Tung-pi [Algenib, a And] and Ying-shih [Markab, Scheat], lasting 20 days. 49 3d month, 6th year of Ta- Hsin T'ang-shu. Apr. A. D. 852. Ori 5 40 + 10 164 -8 chung of T'ang, sweep- ing star appearing at Tzii [X, « Oph KanpyO, guest star at the als. east of Tung-hsien [4 stars, north of Markab, Scheat, and Antares] about one ts'un [Chinese inch] apart. 52 1 lth month, 1st year of Hsin Tang-ihu. Dec. A. D. 892. Between Sgr 19 40 -20 348 -22 Ching-fu of T'ang, star and Cap sparkling at Niu [a, 0, x Ari, u, A, 0 Sgr] and Ton [M, X, P, a, r, f Sgr]. TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae—Continued Nova Text description Source Date Location R.A. Dec. Notes No. a b 53 1st month, 3d year of Hain Tang-thu, Feb. A. D. 900. Her 17h + 15* + 29' Biot and Lundmark Kuang-hua of T'ang, Tung-Woo. have checked this. guest star appearing at Huan-ch§ of Chung- yuan [including 60 Her, namely T'ai-wei area between UMa and Vir, between Boo and Leo] big as a peach, the light shining towards Huan- che", which could not be seen then. 54 1st month, 2d year of Tung-lfao. A. D. 902. Near w, ^ Cas lh30m + 65( 97° T'ien-fu of T'ang, guest star like a peach beneath Hua-kai [6 stars, includ- ing u Cas] of Tzti-kung [zone around the north pole, including UMa], on the 4th cyclical day, a sweeping star begins from Wdn-ch'ang [around Great Dipper] and stops at the guest star's place, the guest star does not move; on 42d cyclical day, the guest star stays at K'ang, [9 stars besides Hua-kai], even next year, it does not disappear. 55 5th month, 1st year of T'ung-tfao. June A. D. 911. Near a Her 17 20 + 15 + 24 Biot and Lundmark Ch'ien-hua of Liang dy- have checked this. nasty offending Ti-tso. This may be a re- currence of the nova of A. D. 29. 56 After [or in] the 5th month, Japanese astronom- A. D. 930. till before [or in] the 7th ical materials. month, 8th year of EnchS, guest star entering Yli- lin [including stars from Aquarius]. 57 3d year of Ching-t6 of Yu-hu chHng-hua. A. D. 1006. Near « Lup 15 -50 292 + 6 This could be a super- southern Sung, a big star nova, also a radio seen at the west of T'ien- point source. (Rec- ti [?, may be Ti], shining ords of this nova like a golden circle, no appear also in the one knows this star. Chinese T*ung-k(ao and Sung-shih, and in the Japanese Meigetsu-ki. Schonfeld (1891) suggested that a nova observed by Hepidanus and Barhebreaus around the begin- ning of 1006 A. D. may have been the same nova.) 58 14th cyclical day, 1st Sung-shih, Wtn- Feb. 8 19 20 -30 336 -22 month, 4th year of Ta- hsien, T'ung- A. D. 1011. chung-hsiang-fu of Sung, klao. guest star seen before Nan-tou [n, X, p, a, T, f Sgr]. 59 42d cyclical day, 6th month, July 15-27 1st year of Ming-tao of A. D. 1032. Sung, guest star appear- ing near Pi, big as Mu [Jupiter], with a slight flame, lasting 13 days, till 54th cyclical day. to 00 TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae— Continued Nova Text description Source Date Location ft. A. Dec. I b Notes No. a S 60 2d oyclical day, 5th month, Sung-shih. June 10 Near f Tau 5>30" + 20° 155° go The Crab Nebula in 1st year of Chih-ho of A. D. 1054. Taurus, NGC 1952 Sung, guest star appear- (MI) is its rem- ing at southeast of T'ien- nant; this is a su- kuan [on the south of pernova, and also Wu-chu or the other a radio point source. name for Chiao, Niu, (A record of this two constellations] sev- nova appears also eral t»*un long, lasting i in the Japanese more than one year. Meigetsu-ki, and in the Chinese Sung- shih. See also Duy- vendak (1942) and Mayall and Oort (1942)) 61 33d cyclical day, 8th month, "Biography of Sept. 11 Between Hya 10 20 -30 265 +32 1st year of Hsien-yung Emperor Tao- A. D. 1065. and Ant of Liao dynasty, guest tsung," from star invading T'ien-miao Liao-shih [14 stars, on the south of Chang or the other name for Tou]. 62 44th cyclical day, 11th T'ung-k*ao, Sung- Dec. 25 Cet 2 40 + 10 132 -42 Biot and Lundmark month, 3d year of Hsi- 8hih. A. D. 1070. have checked this. ning of Sung, guest star appearing at T'ien-ch'un [around Cetus]. 63 43d cyclical day, 12th Hsu"... t'ung-k'ao, Jan. 6 Sco 17 -40 314 -1 month, 5th year of T'ai- Liao-shih. A. D. 1080. k'ang of Liao dynasty, sweeping star invading Wei. 64 5th month, 8th year of T*ung-k*ao. June A. D. 1138. Near 0 Ari 1 50 + 22 112 -39 Shao-hsing of Kao-tsung of Sung, guest star stay- ing at Lou [a, /3, y Ari]. 65 9th cyclical day, 2d month, Sung-shih, Mar. 23 Vir 14 20 -10 306 + 45 Biot and Lundmark 9th year of Shao-hsing of Tung-Wao. A. D. 1139. have checked this. Sung, guest star staying at K'ang [h K, \, p Vir]. 66 38th cyclical day, 7th Sungshih, Aug. 10-15 Among Her, 16 + 60 58 + 44 month, 2d year of Ch'un- Sungshih- A. D. 1175. Bod, and Dra hsi of Sung, star spar- hsin-pien. kling at the west, above Ch'i-kung [7 stars in Her,] small as Ying-huo [Mars], sparkling gloom- ily, disappearing on the 43d cyclical day. 67 6th cyclical day, 6th Sungshih, Aug. 6 A. D. Cas 1 40 + 70 95 (Records of this nova month, 8th year of Tung-k'ao. 1181 to Feb. appear also in Ch'un-hsi of Sung, guest 6 A. D. 1182. Chinshih (History star appearing at K'uei of the Chin dy- [Mirach, 5, «, f, 17, ft, v, ir nasty) and in the And Nova Text description Source Date Location R.A. Dec. I b Notes INO. a 6 70 34th cyclical day, 11th Sung-shih, Sung- Dec. 15 A. D. In south of 18"20» + 20° 16° + 13° Biot and Lundmark month, 3d year of Shao- shih-hsin-pien. 1230 to Mar. 109 Her have checked this. ting of Sung, star spar- 20 A. D. 1231. Many records of kling beneath T'u-ssO- this star were also hsing [2 stars, on the preserved in Jap- northeast of Rasalgethi] anese astronomical of T'ein-shih, disappear- materials. It could ing on the 19th cyclical be a supernova. day, 2d month, next However, according year. to Japanese sources, this should be in Cyg. A record of this nova appeared also in the following Japanese books: Hyakuren-sho, Mei- getsu-ki, Arumaka- gami, and Hongoku- ji Nenpu. 71 47th cyclical day, extra 9th Sung-shih-hsin-pien, Oct. 18 to Nov. Between a and f 13 20 -10 286 + 51 month, 5th year of Shao- Sung-shih, Chin- 26 A. D. 1232. Vir ting of Sung, sweeping shih, HsU . . . star seen at the eastern Vung-k'ao. Chiao [Spica, f, 9, i Vir] disappearing on the 56th cyclical day, 10th month. 72 8th cyclical day, 5th month, Sung-shih. June 5 A. D. Peg 23 + 20 60 -36 4th year of Chia-hsi of 1240 to Apr. Sung, sweeping star seen 25 A. D. 1241. at Shih [Markab, Scheat], disappearing on the 8th cyclical day 3d month. 73 27th cyclical day, 7th Sung-shih, Hsu ... Aug. 17 Sco 17 -40 314 -1 month, 4th year of Chia- fung-k*ao. A. D. 1240. hsi of Sung, guest star appearing at Wei. 74 54th cyclical day, 8th month, YUanshih, Hsu Sept. 9 to Sept. Between And and 1 + 30 95 -32 1st year of Ta-t6 of YUan, fung-k'ao. 18 A. D. 1297. Psc witch star appearing at K'uei on the 58th cyclical day [1st day of] 9th month, witch star again invading K'uei. 75 11th cyclical day, 12th Yuanshih, Hsu Jan. 24 Col 6 -40 214 -25 month, 2d year of Ta-t6 fung-Vao. A. D. 1299. of Ylian, sweeping star coming out from Tzti- sun-hsing [4 stars, south of CMa and Lep]. 76 44th cyclical day, 3d month, Yuan-shih. Apr. 13 Gem 6 40 + 20 162 + 9 2d year of Huang-ch'ing A. D. 1313. of Yuan, sweeping star appearing at Tung-ching. 77 3d cyclical day, 2d month, Ming-shih. Mar. 29 Between y Peg 0 + 20 78 -41 Landmark's catalog 21st year of Hung-wu of A. D. 1388. and a And gave a wrong Ming dynasty, star ap- position. pearing at Tung-pi. 78 17th cyclical day, 10th Ming-shih. Nov. 14 Lyr 19 + 40 38 + 14 month, 2d year of Yung- A. D.1404. lo of Ming, at the south- east of Nien-tao [5 stars, including R Lyr], a star like sheet of paper, yel- low, light, beautiful, not moving. 79 27th cyclical day, 8th Ming-shih, Sept. 9 Near a,"/3 CMi 7 20 + 7 176 + 13 Williams and Lund- month, 5th year of Hsuan- Hstt . . . A. D.1430. mark have checked te of Ming, star seen t'ung-k*ao. this. beside Nan-ho, big like a bullet, blue-black, last- ing 26 days. 80 24th cyclical day, 12th Ming shih, Jan. 4 to Apr. 3 Near n. a>. \p Eri 5 -10 177 -27 Williams and Lund- month, 5th year of Hsfian- II8U . . . A. D. 1431. mark have checked t6 of Ming, a star like a t'ung-k*ao. this. bullet, seen beside Chiu- yu [3 stars, including Eridan], beautiful white- yellow colors, disappear- ing after 15 days, reap- pearing on the 19th day, 3d month, 6th year. to I TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae—Continued to Nova Text description Source Date Location R.A. Dec. I b Notes 00 No. a 6 81 29th cyclical day, 6th Mingshih, July 30 to Aug. Near ft Oph 17h40» 0° 353° + 13° Lundmark has montb, 5th year of T'ien- ma . . . 2 A. D. 1461. checked this. shun of Ming, a pink- fung-k'ao. white star appearing be- side Tsung-chfing-hsing [2 stars, southeast of Rasalgethi], transform- ing into white color va- por, and disappearing on the 32d cyclical day. 82 53d cyclical day, 10th "Biography of Nov. 8 A. D. Near y Cas 0 40 + 60 90 -2 This is Tycho's nova; month (winter), 6th year Shen-tsung" 1672 to May a supernova, also a of Lung-ch'ing of Ming, from Ming- A. D. 1574. radio point source. sweeping star seen at shih. (A record of this northeast, disappearing nova appears also in the 4th month, 2d in Mingshih [His- year of Wen-li. tory of the Ming dynasty], and in the preface of Ming Ting-wen for Chung-hsi chin- 83 5th cyclical day, a big star, Mingshih, Ming- Feb. 22 hsing fung-i k'ao.) Williams, Biot, and as large as the sun, ap- shih-k*ao, HsU A. D. 1578. Lundmark all have appearing from the west, . . . fung-k'ao. checked this, but all stars circle around it. their conclusion is not very probable. 84 46th cyclical day, 6th Mingshih, Hsu. . . July 11 Sco 15 40 -25 313 + 21 Williams, Biot, and month, 12th year of Wan- t*ung-k*ao. A. D. 1584. Lundmark have li of Ming, star coming checked this. (From out from Fang. this time on West- ern dates are wrong by ten days because i they did not take 1 into account the Chinese calendar re- form that occurred I in 1582.) 85 2d cyclical day, 9th month, Ming-shih, Hsu Oct. 10 Oph 337 -4 This is Kepler's nova. 32d year of Wan-li, a . . . t'ung-k*ao. A. D. 1604, Williams, Biot, and star with a split tail, like to Oct. 7 Lundmark have all a bullet, with red-yellow A. D. 1605. mistaken this one. color, is seen at the southwest, disappearing in the 10th month; on the 58th day, 12th month, turns out from the southeast, still with split tail, gradually be- comes dark in the 2d month, next year, dis- appears on the 4th cycli- cal day, 8th month. 86 37th year of Wan-li of Ming-shih, Hsu A. D. 1609. Williams, Biot, and Ming, big star seen at . . . t'ung-k*ao. Lundmark have southwest, with shining checked this but flame. their conclusion is not very probable. 87 10th cyclical day, 4th Ming-shih, Hsu May 22 Williams and Lund- month, 1st year of T'ien- . . . t*ung-k*ao. A. D. 1621. mark put this star ch'i, of Ming, red star in their catalog. seen at east. 88 25th cyclical day, 1st Ch'ingshih-kao. Feb. 18 Eri -10 169 -40 month, 15th year of A. D. 1676. K'ang-hsi of Ch'ing dy- nasty, strange star seen at the northeast of T'ien- ytian [16 stars, south of Mao, Pi, in Eridan], with white color. 89 46th cyclical day, 10th ChHng-shih-kao. Nov. 2 And + 30 95 -32 S month, 27th year of A. D. 1688. K'ang-hsi of Ch'ing, strange star seen at K'uei, white. 90 46th cyclical day, 8th Ch'ingshih-kao. Oct. 18 18 -30 331 -10 month, 29th year of A. D. 1690. K'ang-hsi, strange star seen at Ch'i [y, 6, *, 0 Sgr]. 130 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS YOU a References SHAJN, G. A., AND HASH, W. F. BIOT E c 1954. Dolk. Akad. Nauk. S. S. R., vol. 96, p. 713. SHKI 8 T 1846. 7n Connaissance des temps. Paris. ^I ^ 'i f," *, ., ^T , c a T> 1954 DUTVXNDAK, J. J. L. v - Dokl. Akad. Nauk S. S. R., vol. 97, p. 53. 1942. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific, vol. 54, p. 91. VOBONTSOV-VELYAMINOV B. A HASE, W. F., AND SHAJN, G. A. 1948- Gaseous nebulae and new "tan. Moscow. 1954. Astron. Journ. Soviet Union, vol. 31, p. 409. WILLIAMS, J. LUNDMABK K 1871. Observations of comets from B. C. 611 to 1921. 'publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific, vol. 33, p. 225. J640. extracted from Chinese annata. MATALL, N. U., AND OOBT, J. H. London. 1942. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific, vol. 54, p. 95. SCHONFELD, E. 1891. Astron. Nachr., vol. 127, p. 153. Abstract Previous lists of ancient novae recorded in Chinese history have been revised and augmented to form a new catalog of 90 novae, some of which may be radio point sources. The frequency of supernovae is found to be greater than previous estimates, and novae are found to be noticeably concentrated in galactic latitude towards the galactic plane. Historical Records of Meteor Showers in China, Korea, and Japan1 By Susumu Imoto2 and Ichiro Hasegawa8 About 20 years ago, Iba (1934) published of 1950. The date of each appearance is English translations of some ancient his- fixed by the name and year of the era, by torical records of astronomy in the Orient the moon of the year according to the local that included many references to meteor lunar calendar, and by the day of the moon, showers. From these and other sources (given indicated by its old name. Each date is also in table 3) we have compiled a list of ancient given according to the Julian calendar before showers. Those recorded for China were A. D. 1582 and according to the Gregorian collected mainly from "Ku-chin t*u-shu-chi- calendar after A. D. 1583. cheng"; those for Korea were collected from Table 2 gives brief translations of the recorded Sekiguchi's (1917) list. The records made in description of each meteor shower. Table Japan during the period from 15 B. C. to 3 gives the reference books from which this 1600 A. D. were obtained from Kanda's list was compiled, and in table 3a the name of (1935) list. The original records, which have each source is transliterated according to the not been translated into any foreign language, local pronunciation in the relevant country. recently were published in Japan (Imoto and The distribution of the records, by centuries, Hasegawa, 1956). is shown in table 4. Table 1 lists 118 meteor showers recorded Table 5 shows the distribution of the meteor in the Orient during the past 25 centuries. showers (not including those given in table 1 These showers are arranged in order of the under "Exact date unknown"), according to solar longitude reduced to the mean equinox the sun's longitude for every 60 degrees. The 1 In this paper the authors transliterated the Japanese, Chinese, and number of showers identified with known Korean words by a method whose results do not always agree with the showers listed in current scientific literature systems generally accepted by scholars in this country. For this reason, certain changes have been made. To make It easier for a student to is shown in column 3, while the number of consult the oriental sources from which the data were taken Qlsted in showers previously unknown and not identified table 3a), the names of the source books have been transliterated accord- ing to the following systems: For the Chinese words, the Wade system is shown in column 4. The number of "recur- was used, except for some names of prefectures and districts, where the rent" showers listed in column 5 pertains to conventional form b used; forth e Japanese words, the Hepburn system; and for the Korean words, the Rebchauer system. Also, the forms of those showers that appeared more than twice some names in the list of historical eras (given In the first column of table (including the Andromedids). In column 6 is 1) have been changed In accordance with the same systems. All other transliteration In text and tables is that of the authors. Because of the given the total number of recurrent and reasons mentioned above, there may be a few inconsistencies in trans- unidentified meteor showers estimated to occur literation between this paper and the preceding one, "A New Catalog of Ancient Novae," by Hsl Tse-tsung, In which the Wade-OUes system was for every 60 degrees of solar longitude. used. Meteor showers seem to be distributed * Calendar Association of Japan, Osaka, Japan. > Ananatan Institute of Astro-Oompotetton, Shimlcn, Japan. uniformly in solar longitude. An analysis of 131 132 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS TOUX columns 5 and 6 in table 5 gives us the follow- there is almost no change in the longitudes of ing: the ascending node (&) for the Lyrids and 0.0 £mB£ 3.4, Perseids. Figures 1—3 show the correlations between the sun's longitude and the &'s of where mB is the mean number of recurrent meteor showers (hereafter called the meteor identified showers for 60° of solar longitude, shower's longitude). The &'s of the parent and comets were obtained from Yamamoto's (1936) 8.4 £mB+Non^ 12.0 catalog and referred to the mean equinox of 1950.0. where ma+Non is the mean value for the total number of identified and unidentified meteor AQUAKIDS AND ORIONIDS.—In figure 1, the showers for 60° of solar longitude. longitudes of Comet Halley and the Aquarid Table 6 lists the recurrent meteor showers and Orionid showers are shown. The variations and the years of their recorded appearance, of the three longitudes, though the deviations with the sun's longitude given in parentheses. are comparatively large, seem to run nearly The showers were identified on the basis of the parallel to each other. However, the difference sun's longitude only. Six well-known meteor between Comet Halley's Q> and the longitude of showers were definitely identified: the Lyrid, the meteor showers is too large for Comet Halley Aquarid, Perseid, Orionid, Leonid, and Andro- to be considered as associated with the Aquarid medid showers. The four unidentified, prob- or Orionid showers. If we considered only the ably recurrent, showers that were recorded discrepancies of longitude, we might doubt the more than twice are designated by capital real relation existing between these showers letters in column 9 of table 1 and in the last and Comet Halley. column of table 2. LEONIDS.—In figure 2, the longitude of the Orbital elements of recent showers are given Leonids and of Comet 1866 i are shown, on the in columns 4 and 5 of table 6, where i is the assumption that Comet 1866 i is the same as inclination of the orbital plane. When i is Comet 1366. It is evident that the trend of near 90°, the amount of perturbation of the these variations in longitude is the same and orbit is supposed to be small. For example, in good coincidence. 58° - -58° 50" 210° 210° 200* --© 44° 40* 40* 500 1000 1500 2000 FIGURE 1.—Longitudes of Aquarids, Orionids, and Comet Halley. Ordinate, longitude of the sun; abscissa, years; open circles, Aquarids; solid circles, Orionids; solid curve, longitude of ascending node of Comet Halley; dotted circle, recent observation. ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS 133 236* -230* 220' -220* 1000 FIGURE 2.—Longitudes of the Leonids and Comets 1366 and 18661. Ordinate, longitude of the sun; abscissa, 'years; solid' circles, Leonid showers listed in table 6; open circles, Leonid showers listed by Quetelet and others; crosses, longitude of the ascending node of Comets 1366 and 18661; dotted circle, recent observation. ANDROMEDIDS.—-In figure 3, the longitudes 1 1 1 of the descending nodes of Comet Biela 260" - - 260' and of the Andromedids are shown. The identification as Andromedids of the shower \» O recorded in 1798 (No. 100 in table 1) has been - \p o - confirmed by European records of their appear- - 250' ance on December 6. The perturbation of 250" - \ Comet Biela's orbit is comparatively large, so that it is very difficult to identify recorded \ _ \\ showers as Andromedids unless the detailed \ I — \ perturbations of the comet's orbit are known. \ 240" - \ - 240* Kanda (1948) has suggested that the date of \ \ — \ the Andromedids' appearance was made earlier \ t by 12 days during the years from 1772 to 1866 \ - X A. D. Many early showers are listed by Klinkerfues (Fisher, 1931), but before 1798 1 1 * 1700 1800 1900 their identification as Andromedids seem to be Year doubtful. FIGURE 3.—Longitudes of Andromedid showers and Comet OTHER RECURRENT SHOWERS.—Other re- Biela. Ordinate, longitude of the sun; abscissa, years; solid current meteor showers, which were recorded circles, Andromedid showers listed in table 6; open circles, more than three times at the same solar longi- other observations; dotted circle, recent observation. Ex- tude, are shown in table 6 with the designations trapolated curve shows longitude of ascending node of Comet Biela. A, B, c, and D. Shower B is probably identical with the Lyncids, with orbital elements Q> and i equal Showers A, C, and D have not been identified to 167° and 123° respectively. The inclination with any showers known from recent observa- of the Lyncids' orbital plane is 123° so that tions. there seem to be only small perturbations in METEOR SHOWERS RECORDED TWICE.—Some the longitude, as with the Perseids. additional meteor showers, listed in table 7, 134 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS VOL.* were recorded only twice at the same longitude, nated A, B, c, and D. It is hoped that records coinciding with each other within two or three of other showers listed here will be compared degrees. The third column shows possible further with observations in the European identifications by means of longitude. records, so that the life-history of meteor The age of a meteor shower may be deter- showers may be more exactly determined. mined from these old records. The present list ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.—In conclusion we ex- extends the known activity of the Perseids as press our hearty thanks to Messrs. S. Kanda, far back as 36 A. D. and also presents some K. Kudara, and Y. Iba, who gave us many "lost" meteor showers, such as those desig- helpful suggestions. TABLE 1.—Dates of meteor showers (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Shower Day Julian (before A. D. Long. Source number Name of era Year Moon (Lunar calendar) 1582) or Gregorian O Country Shower record calendar 1950.0 in table 3 n Chien Wu_._ 12 Cbi-wei? (I-wei= Mar. 15 A. D. 36 20< China A 30th). 2 P*y6ngw6n- 23 Last day (30th).. Mar. 20 A. D. 581... 21 Korea. _ A wang 3 Ta Chung 1 Wu-shfin (17th).. Mar. 26 A. D. 1008.. 24 China HsiangFu 4 Chou Chuang 10 Hsin-mao Mar. 23 687 B. C 31 China. _ Lyrid Wang 5 Yung Shih_- Euei-wei (26th).. Mar. 26 15 B. C 30 China.. Lyrid 6 Injong 14 Wu-ch6n (1st)... Apr. 3 A. D. 1136... 31 Korea.. Lyrid 7 Lung An 5 Chia-yin (9th)... Apr. 8 A. D. 401 40 China- Aquarid— 8 Tai Shin 2 I-wei (8th) Apr. 8 A. D. 466 40 China.. Aquarid 9 Tien Yu 2 I-ch'ou (6th) Apr. 13 A. D. 905... 42 China.. Aquarid.. 10 Tien Ch*eng_ 2 Kfing-shta (9th) _ Apr. 13 A. D. 927... 42 China.. Aquarid.. 11 Ying Shun 1 Ting-yu (27th)__. Apr. 13 A. D. 934... 42 China.. Aquarid. . 12 Ch*ien Hsing. 1 K6ng-yin (21st).. Apr. 24 A. D. 1022.. 52 China.. 13 Tai An 4 Apr. A. D. 458 China.. 14 Ta Ming 5 Mar.-Apr.A. D. 461. China- 15 HoPMng 5 Mar.-Apr. A. D. 464. China.. 16 Hyogong- 9 Mar.-Apr. A. D. 905. Korea.. wang 17 Cheng Te Apr. A. D. 1506 China. . 18 K'aiCh'eng. 4 Chi-hai (18th) May 4 A. D. 839 62 China. _ 1 19 Tai Shih___. 2 Chi-mao (22d)___. May 22 A. D. 466... 82 China. _ 1 20 Chia Ching.- 18 Night of the 13th.. May30 A. D. 1539.. 83 China.. 9 21 YOan Yen... 1 Ting-yu (1st) May 23 12 B. C 86 China.. 1 22 Tampyo 7 Tuchinoto-hituzi 88 Japan.. (4th) May 30 A. D. 735... 10 23 Sdngdok- 5 Korea- wang Apr.-May A. D. 706. 2 24 Ch'ang 4 China. _ Ch*mg May-June A. D. 824. 1 25 Chhing T (i) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Shower Day Julian (before A. D. Long. Source number Name of era Year Moon (Lunar calendar) 1582) or Gregorian O Country Shower record calendar 1950.0 in table 3 27 P'ySngwon- June-July A. D. 566. Korea.. wang 28 Chinp'yong- June-July A. D. 586. Korea.. wang 29 Chung-jong__ 14 Hsin-wei (9th) July 5 A. D. 1519... 117' Korea 12 30 Hsiang Yuan. 1 Wu-wu (19th) July 10 A. D. 784. _. 127 China 1 '31 Chien Wu... 12 Wu-hsu (5th) July 17 A. D. 36 138 China- Perseid— 1 32 K'ai Yuan... 2 I-mao (29th) July 15 A. D. 714. _. 132 China.. Perseid?— 1 33 TaiHo 4 Hsin-wei (29th) _ _. July 22 A. D. 830... 138 China Perseid— 1 34 T'ai Ho 7 Wu-tsu (3d) July 23 A. D. 833... 139 China. _ Perseid— 1 35 T'ai Ho 9 Ting-yu (23d) July 22 A. D. 835. . . 138 China.. Perseid 1 36 Hui Ch'ang— 1 Wu-chto (29th)... July 21 A. D. 841... 137 China. _ Perseid 1 [Chia-sh6n (17th).. July 21 A. D. 924. .. 137 37 Tung Kuan. • China. _ IPing-hsu (19th)... July 23 A. D. 924... 139 Perseid... July 22 A. D. 925. . . 138 38 Tung Kuan. JKSng-yin (29th)... •China.. Perseid— (Hsin-mao (30th).. July 23 A. D. 925... 139 7 39 T'ien Ch'eng. I-wei (10th) July 22 A. D. 926... 138 China.. Perseid 7 July 20 A. D. 933. . . 136 40 Ch'ang Hsing fKeng-wu (25th)... •China- Perseid— ll-hai (1st) July 25 A. D. 933... 141 7 41 Eiso The 19th July 24 A. D. 989... 139 Japan.. Perseid— 13 [The 4th July 20 A. D. 1007 135 •Japan.. 13 42 Kanko. < The 8th July 24 A. D. 1007 139 Perseid— 14 lThe9th July 25 A. D. 1007... 140 43 Ch5ng-jong_. Ting-wei (6th) July 25 A. D. 1042... 139 Korea.. Perseid— 2 44 Ching Tai. . Ping-shen (29th).. July 27 A. D. 1451. . 139 China.- Perseid 1 45 Bunkyu The 15th Aug. 10 A. D. 1862. _ 138 Japan._ Perseid— 15 46 Ho P'ing Chi-mao (12th)... Aug. 1 A. D. 464 150 China. . 6 f S6ng-wang _ _ 2 176 Korea.. 47 | Chung Ta Chia-chSn (12th)._ Aug. 28 A. D. 532... China- 1 I Tung 174 f Aug. 28 A. D. 884— Japan. 16 48 Genkei The 4th and 5th__. JAug. 29 A. D. 884... 175 *49 Ninna 1 Aug.-Sept. A. D. 885. Japan.. 17 50 Ching Yu... 4 Wu-she"n (8th) Aug. 21 A. D. 1037- 166 China- 18 51 Chia Yu 8 I-ch'ou (26th) Aug. 22 A. D. 1063— 166 China 1 52 Myong-jong. 3 Chia-wu (21st) Aug. 24 A. D. 1548. . 166 Korea. _ 2 53 Myftng-jong. 15 Ting-yu (3d) Aug. 24 A. D. 1560— 166 Korea.. 2 54 Chia Ching 12 July-Aug. A. D. 1533. China.. 19 (Chi-ch'ou (13th)._ Sept. 10 A. D. 881— 186 55 Chung Ho._ . JKteg-yin (14th)__. Sept. 11 A. D. 881... 187 •China. C. ITing-yu (21st) Sept. 18 A. D. 881... 194 56 Ta Chung Wu-wu (23d) Sept. 11 A. D. 1012.. 187 China. _ C Hsiang Fu 57 Suk-jong 9 Chia-chen (5th). .. Sept. 25 A. D. 1683- 186 Korea- 12 458 Suinin 15 Sept.-Oct. 15 B. C. Japan.. 20 59 T'ai K'ang. . 9 Sept.-Oct. A. D. 288. China.. 5 60 Chindok- 1 Sept.-Oct. A. D. 647. Korea.. 2 wang * In the book of Wen-hsten-t'ung-k'ao, this shower Is recordedo n the day of Wa- yln, which is not in the sixth month of the year 12 of the era. • This shower is recordedi n popular chronicles In Japan, bat historical annals do not refer to It, so Its authenticity is doubtful. 1 The year of Suinin Is of very doubtful historical value. 136 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS VOL.J TABLE 1.—Dates of meteor showers—Continued (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Shower Day Julian (before A. D. Long. Source number Name of era Year Moon (Lunar calendar) 1582) or Gregorian O Country Shower record calendar 1950.0 in table 3 61 Aejang- Sept.-Oct. A. D. 801 Korea- wang China.. 62 Chia Ching_. 13 Sept.-Oct. A. D. 1534. 21 China.. 63 Chih Te 5 Wu-shen (24th). Sept. 23 A. D. 585._ 201* Orionid. 22 64 Ch'ang 1 Hsin-yu (1st) Sept. 25 A. D. 930.. 201 China.. Orionid. 7 Using 65 Cheng "Fung- 1 I-yu (22d) Oct. 2 A. D. 1436.. 205 China.. Orionid. 1 66 Cheng Tung. 4 Kuei-mao (27th). Oct. 5 A. D. 1439.. 208 China.. Orionid. 1 67 Kansei 6 The 13th Oct. 3 A. D. 1465.. 206 Japan.. Orionid. 23 68 Tien Ch'ing. 3 Chia-yin (26th) .. Oct. 20 A. D. 1623. 211 China.. Orionid. 1 69 My6ng-jong_ 8 Chi-wei (28th) Oct. 11 A. D. 1178- 215 Korea.. 2 J6n-sh6n (4th) Oct. 23 A. D. 1683- 214 Suk-jong \ Korea.. 70 IChia-nsu (6th) Oct. 25 A. D. 1683- 216 12 fPing-hsu (2d) Oct. 15 A. D. 931... 220 Ch'ang Hsing. China.. Leonid 7 71 JTing-hai (3d) Oct. 16 A. D. 931— 221 (Tien Hsien_. 9 {KSng-tsu (3d) Oct. 13 A. D. 934... 218 72 [China- Leonid 24 jCh'ing Tai_. 1 iHsin-ch'ou (4th). Oct. 14 A. D. 934... 219 7 73 K5ho 4 The 9th Oct. 14 A. D. 967... 219 Japan.. Leonid 13 [Hsien P*ing_. 5 [Ping-shto (4th) . . Oct. 12 A. D. 1002.. 217 1 China.. Leonid 1 74 Oct. 14 A. D. 1002,. 219 lCh5ho 4 IThe 6th, the 7th. Oct. 15 A. D. 1002.. 220 J Japan.. Leonid 13 75 Ch6gen 8 9 The 11th Oct. 14 A. D. 1035.. 219 Japan.. Leonid 25 76 ChOryaku... 1 9 The 3d Oct. 14 A. D. 1037. 219 Japan.. Leonid 25 77 Katei 3 9 The 29th... Oct. 19 A. D. 1237. 223 Japan.. Leonid 26 78 Ryakunin 1 9 The 9th Oct. 18 A. D 1238- 222 Japan.. Leonid 27 79 Bunshd 1 9 The 13th Oct.22 A. D 1466.. 225 Japan.. Leonid 23 80 Chung-jong-. 27 9 Hsin-wei (26th). _ Oct. 24 A. D 1532_. 227 Korea.. Leonid 12 fChung-jong_. 28 fChia-tsu (7th) Oct.24 A. D. 1533. . 226 Korea. Leonid 12 81 iTenmon 2 10 {The 8th Oct. 25 A. D. 1533. 227 Japan.. Leonid 27,28 IChia Ching.. 12 ICnia-tsu (7th) Oct.24 A. D. 1533.. 226 China.. Leonid 1 82 Chung-jong_. 33 10 Chia-chfin (4th)_. Oct. 26 A. D. 1538.. 228 Korea. Leonid— 12 83 My5ng-jong. 9 9 Ping-yin (28th) ... Oct.24 A. D. 1554.. 226 Korea. Leonid 12 84 MySng-jong. 21 10 Hsin-wei (14th) Oct.26 A. D. 1566.. 228 Korea. Leonid 2 fWanLL 30 Hsin-ssu (23d) Nov. 6 A.D. 1602._. 228 China.. 1 85 Leonid— ISdnjo— 35 The 28th Nov. 11 A D. 1602.. 223 Korea. Leonid 2 Ktog-chen (5th) Nov. 4 A.D. 1625... 226 12 86 In jo. 10 Hsin-ssu (6th) Nov. 5 A.D. 1625-.. 227 [Korea. Leonid 2 J6n-wu (7th) Nov. 6 A.D. 1625__. 228 12 •87 K'angHsi— . 5 10 The 11th Nov. 7 A.D. 1666._. 229 China.. Leonid 29 88 Genroku 11 10 The 6th Nov. 8 A.D. 1698... 230 Japan.. Leonid 30 89 Pojang-wang. 2 9 The 15th Nov. 1 A.D. 643--.. 239 Korea. D 2 90 K'aiPao 3 9 K6ng-wu (Oct. 2d) Nov. 3 A.D. 970--.. 240 China.. D 1 91 Hung Wu._- 28 •9 Hsin-ssfl (21st) Nov. 3 A.D. 1395... 238 China.. D 1 92 Chia (Thing 12 10 Night of the 17th Nov. 3 A.D. 1533__. 247 China.. 31 93 Temmu 14 10 The 23d Nov. 24 A D. 685... 263 Japan.. 20 94 Sinmun-wang- 4 10 Nov.-Dec.A. D. 684. Korea . 2 95 SdngdOk- 17 10 Nov.-Dec. A. D. 718. Korea. 2 wang 96 ChiaChing.. 11 10 Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1532. China.. 32 97 Chia Ching... 13 10 Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1534. China.. 11 • In the book of Ten-wen-k'ao-ku-lu the date is given as Nov. 8,1666 A • D., but perhaps this is a mistake. * Intercalary month of lunar calendar. ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS 137 TABLE 1.—Dates of meteors showers—Continued (i) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Shower Day Julian (before A. D. Long. Source number Name of era Year Moon (Lunar calendar) 1582) or Gregorian O Country Shower record calendar 1950.0 in table 3 98 Chia Ching. 18 10 Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1539. China. _ 11 99 Suk-jong 9 10 Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1683. Korea. 12 10 The 29th Dec. 6 A. D. 1798... 256" Androm- 100 Kansei 10 • Japan.. 33 11 The 3d Dec. 9 A. D. 1798... 259 edid. 101 Kansei 7 11 The eve of the win- Dec. 20 A. D. 1795.. 270 Japan.. 34 ter solstice. 102 Enryaku _. 3 11 Kinoto-mi (8th)._. Dec. 24 A. D. 784... 293 Japan. 35 103 Chung Ho_ 3 11 Dec. 883-Jan. A. D. China- 1 884. Tuchinoe-tatu Jan. 1 A. D. 685 303 104 Tenmu. 13 11 (21st) Japan. 36 Kanoe-uma (23d) Jan. 3 A. D. 685 305 ^Kuang Te.. 2 Ping-yin (4th) Dec. 31 A. D. 764. _. 301 China.. 1 105 KySngdfik- 23 12 The 11th Jan. 6 A. D. 765 307 Korea. 2 [ wang 106 Hoki 12 Tu chinoto-hituzi Jan. 10 A. D. 773 311 Japan.. 10 (13th) 107 Injo 15 1 Chia-ch6n (4th) _ - - Jan. 29 A. D. 1637.. _ 314 Korea. 12 108 Yung Chia_. 1 12 Ting-hai Jan. 20 A. D. 308 324 China.. 1 109 TaiHo 7 10 I-hai Jan. 18 A. D. 483 321 China.. 6 110 Suk-jong 6 1 Chi-yu (18th) Feb. 18 A. D. 1680. _. 334 Korea. 12 111 T*ae-jong 10 1 Chi-mao (12th). - . Feb. 15 A. D. 1410. _. 342 Korea. 2 112 Chap'a-wang 25 1 Feb.-Mar. A. D. 104. Korea. 2 113 Hsia Hoa 10 1809 B.C China.. 37 Shih Ti Kuei EXACT DATE UNKNOWN 114 Sung Hsiang 566 B.C.--. China. . 38 Kung 115 Piryu-wang_. 13 Spring. A. D. 316. Korea. 2 116 Piyu-wang . . 28 A. D. 454. Korea. 2 117 HunsOng- 10 Autumn. A. D. 848- Korea. 2 wang 118 Ch'ung Chen. 15 Summer. A. D. 1642. China.. J The 10th month must be corrected to the 11th, for there is no day of I-hai in the 10th month. The I-hai of the 11th month Is Jan. 18,483 A. D. • This is recorded in the book of Chu-shu-chi-nien, which has doubtful historical value. 138 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS VOL.1 TABU: 2.—Description* of meteor shower* Source Shower Record record in Shower number table 3 1 More than 100 small stars flew China- 1 A 2 Stars fell like a shower Korea. 2 A 3 About ten stars flew China. 1 A 4 Stars fell like a shower China. 3 Lyrid 5 Stars fell like a shower China- 4 Lyrid 6 Many stars flew from the northeast to the southwest Korea. 2 Lyrid 7 Many stars flew west China. 5 Aquarid 8 Countless large and small meteors flew west China. 1 Aquarid 9 Small meteors flew in the southeast, and fell like a shower China- 1 Aquarid 10 Many small stars flew northwest China. 7 Aquarid 11 Many stars chased each other northwest China. 7 Aquarid 12 Seven stars with trails flew to Crater slowly China- 1 13 A great many meteors flew west China. 6 14 A great many meteors appeared China- 1 15 Countless meteors flew west till morning China. 1 16 Stars fell like a shower Korea. 2 17 Stars fell like a shower China- 8 18 About 200 meteors flew west China. 1 19 About 100 meteors flew west China. 1 20 Stars fell like a shower China. 9 21 Stars fell glittering like a shower till evening China- 1 22 Many stars chased each other Japan. 10 23 Many stars flew west Korea- 2 24 Many stars fell in the north China. 1 25 Stars fell like a shower in the northeast China. 11 26 Stars fought each other in the middle air Korea. 2 27 Stars fell like a shower Korea. 2 28 Stars fell like a shower Korea. 2 29 Some stars scattered like fire balls Korea- 12 30 Five or ten meteors fell China. 1 31 More than 100 meteors flew thither in the morning China. 1 Perseid 32 Large meteors flew northwest crossing Ursa Major, countless small China. 1 Perseid? stars flew till morning. 33 Countless large and small meteors flew from evening till morning. China. 1 Perseid 34 About 100 large and small meteors flew all directions from evening China. 1 Perseid till morning. 35 About 20 meteors flew from evening till morning, crossing each China. Perseid other; many of them appeared near the Milky Way. 36 Many small stars flew in all directions from evening till morning. China- 1 Perseid 37 Many stars flew, crossing each other China- 7 Perseid 38 Many stars flew at midnight. Small stars flew southwest China- 7 Perseid 39 Many stars flew, crossing each other China. 7 Perseid 40 Many stars flew, crossing each other China. 7 Perseid 41 Some stars scattered (Kamo Shrine, Kydto) Japan- 13 Perseid 42 For a few days, meteors flew toward the north. Many meteors Japan. 13,14 Perseid flew from evening till dawn. 43 Many stars flew Korea. 2 Perseid 44 About 80 large and small meteors appeared China- 1 Perseid 45 Stars fell like a shower at midnight Japan. 15 Perseid 46 Many meteors appeared. Many of them flew southwest China. 6 47 Stars fell like a shower f Korea. 2 48 Countless meteors flew to all directions at midnight [China. 1 Some of them flew near the north pole, some of the rest crossed Japan. 16 Ursa Major. 49 Stars fell like a shower Japan. 17 ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOB SHOWERS 139 TABLE 2.—Descriptions of meteor showers—Continued Source Shower Record record in Shower number table 3 50 Hundreds of meteors flew southwest. The greatest of them flew China. 18 to Pegasus and lighted the earth brightly. 51 Hundreds of stars flew west China- 1 52 Large and small meteors flew in all directions Korea. 2 53 Many meteors flew in all directions like a shower Korea. 2 54 Meteor showers were seen in the northwest at Kianfu China. 19 55 Sometimes stars fell like a shower tonight China- 1 56 About 20 large and small stars flew north China. 1 57 Meteors were seen twice, and often after this Korea. 12 58 Stars fell like a shower Japan. 20 59 Stars fell like a shower China- 5 60 Many stars flew north Korea. 2 61 Stars fell like a shower Korea- 2 62 Meteor showers were seen in Heng-chow China. 21 63 Hundreds of meteors scattered in all directions China- 22 Orionid 64 Many small meteors flew, crossing each other, and fell China. 7 Orionid 65 About 100 small meteors appeared from evening till dawn China- 1 Orionid 66 Hundreds of large and small meteors appeared China. 1 Orionid 67 Meteors flew from the northeast to the southwest at midnight. Japan- 23 Orionid The date and time of appearance is the same as last year (A. D. 1465; cf. No. 79). 68 Meteor showers were seen in Ku-yuan-chow China. 1 Orionid 69 Countless stars flew west Korea- 2 70 Meteors were seen, and often after this Korea. 12 71 Many stars flew, crossing each other. Many stars flew and fell China. 7 Leonid 72 Stars flew like a shower in the southwest. Many stars flew crossing China. 24,7 Leonid each other. 73 Stars scattered from the northeast to the southwest all night Japan. 13 Leonid [Scores of small stars fell China. 1 74 \ Meteors flew from the northeast to the southwest at midnight [Japan. 13 Leonid [ Meteors flew early in the morning 75 Meteors appeared in the morning Japan. 25 Leonid 76 Meteors appeared at midnight Japan- 25 Leonid 77 Meteors appeared in the morning Japan . 26 Leonid 78 Countless large and small meteors appeared with white-red color Japan. 27 Leonid at midnight. 79 Meteors flew from the southwest to the northeast (cf. No. 67) Japan. 23 Leonid 80 Stars flew like a shower Korea- 12 Leonid fStars flew like a shower all directions Korea. 12 Japan. 27,28 •Leonid 81 I Many stars flew in the hemisphere and fell on land and sea | Countless large and small meteors flew in all directions crossing China. 1 ^ each other till dawn. 82 Meteors appeared in all directions Korea. 12 Leonid 83 Meteors appeared at intervals Korea. 12 Leonid 84 Likewise (meteors flew like a shower in all directions). (Cf. No. Korea- 2 Leonid 53.) China.. 1 85 Hundreds of large and small stars flew, crossing each other Leonid Many stars fell in all directions Korea.. 2 Many meteors appeared in the whole sky 12 86 Many stars fought in the west -Korea. 2 Leonid About ten meteors appeared in midair 12 87 A great star fell. A small star followed China. 29 Leonid 88 Meteors fell like the weaving [a shuttle?] Japan. 30 Leonid 89 Many stars flew west Korea- 2 D 90 People who lived in Kwang Chow saw many stars fly north China. 1 D 140 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS VOL.J TABLE 2.—Descriptions of meteor showers—Continued Source Shower Record Country record in Shower number table 3 91 Stars flew and fell China. 1 D 92 Stars fell like a shower and made the heavens red China_ 31 93 Heaven stirred, stare fell like a shower Japan. 20 94 Meteors flew, and crossed each other from evening till dawn Korea. 2 f A great meteor flew from Pleiades to Andromeda and many small 95 \ stare followed it. Korea. IA great star fell southwest 96 Stare fell like a shower China- 32 97 Stare fell like a shower in Soo-Chow China. 11 98 Stare fell like a shower in Pu-hsien China- 11 99 Since October meteors have appeared continuously Korea. 12 100 Stare fell like snow. At night, stare flew like snow 33 Japan. Andromedid 101 Stare flew like a shower 34 Japan. 102 All stare moved in the morning 35 103 Stare fell in the northwest like a shower Japan. 1 In the evening, seven stare fell northeast China- 104 Star fell east at sunset. At midnight, heaven stirred, stars fell like Japan. 36 a shower. Stare flew like a shower China- 1 105 Countless large and small meteors appeared Korea. 2 106 Stare fell like a shower Japan. 10 107 Stare fought each other in the southwest Korea. 12 108 Stare flew and scattered, trembling China. 1 109 Stare fell like a rainbow China. 6 110 Meteors appeared for a few days Korea. 12 111 Many stare trembled Korea. 2 112 Many stare fell like a shower, but did not reach the earth Korea. 2 113 Meteors fell like a shower at midnight China- 37 114 Stare fell like a shower China. 38 115 Thirty large stare flew west Korea. 2 116 Stare fell like a shower Korea. 2 117 Stare fell like a shower Korea. 2 118 Stare flew like the weaving [a shuttle?] China. 1 ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS 141 TABLE 3.—Sources of records 20. TABLE 3a.— Transliteration of record sources in table 3 1. Tien-wen-chih (Chinese) 20. Mizu Kagami (Japanese) 2. Munhdn-piko (Korean) 21. Hu-kuang T'ung-chih (Chinese) 3. Ch'un-ch'iu (Chinese) 22. Sui-shu Pen-chi (Chinese) 4. Han-shu Pfen-chi (Chinese) 23. Gohokkoin Shdkaki (Japanese) 5. Chin-shu Pto-chi (Chinese) 24. Liao-chih P6n-chi (Chinese) 6. T'ien-hsiang Hou-chih Chu (Chinese) 25. Fuso Ryakki (Japanese) 7. Ssu-tien-k'ao (Chinese) 26. Azuma Kagami (Japanese) 8. Min Chao-tai Tien-tse (Chinese) 27. KOnendai Shiki (Japanese) 9. Fukien T'ung-chih (Chinese) 28. Taiseiki (Japanese) 10. Shoku Nihongi (Japanese) 29. T'ien-w6n K'ao-ku-lu (Chinese) 11. Shanhsi T'ung-chih (Chinese) 30. Shinzan Shu (Japanese) 12. Yollsong-sMok (Korean) 31. Lu-an-fu-chih (Chinese) 13. Nihon Kiryaku (Japanese) 32. Tse-chou-chih (Chinese) 14. HosshOji Sessho Ki (Japanese) 33. Buk5 NenpyO (Japanese) 15. Meiji Kaei Nenkan Roku (Japanese) 34. HOryaku Genrai Shu (Japanese) 16. Sandai Jitsuroku (Japanese) 35. Nihon Reiiki (Japanese) 17. Hayabiki Nenreki Tsuran (Japanese) 36. Nihon Shoki (Japanese) 18. Sung-shih P6n-chi (Chinese) 37. Chu-shu Chi-nien (Chinese) 19. Kianghsi T'ung-chih (Chinese) 38. Shih-chi (Chinese) 142 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS VOL.2 TABLE 4.—Shower records by centuries China Korea Japan Total Years Num- Per- Num- Per- Num- Per- Num- Per- ber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent Before A. D. 1 5 8 0 0 1 4 6 5 A. D. 1-299 3 5 1 3 0 0 4 3 A. D. 300-499. 9 14 2 6 0 0 11 9 A. D. 500-699 3 5 6 17 3 13 12 10 A. D. 700-899 „ .. 11 17 5 14 4 16 20 17 A. D. 900-1099 17 26 2 6 6 26 25 20 A. D. 110O-1299__. . . 0 0 2 6 2 9 4 3 A. D. 1300-1499 4 6 2 6 2 9 8 6 A. D. 1500-1699.__ ... 14 21 15 43 2 9 31 25 A. D. 1700-1862 0 0 0 0 3 13 3 2 Total. 66 102 35 101 23 99 124 100 TABLE 5-—Distribution of recorded meteor showers according to the sun's longitude (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Total Number Number Number Total Sun's longitude number of identified uniden- recurrent recurrent showers tified and un-*g identified 0°-59° 17 11 6 3 9 60-119 12 0 12 0 12 120-179 25 19 6 2 8 180-239 37 30 7 4 11 240-299 12 1 11 1 12 300-359 9 0 9 0 9 Total 112 61 51 10 61 ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS 143 TABLE 6.— Year and sun's longitude of recurrent meteor showers Number Orbital element of ap- of recent shower Shower pear- Dates of appearances Parent ances comet a i Lyrid 3 687 B. C. (31°), 15 B. C. (30°), A. D. 1136 (31°). 30° 80° 1861 i Aquarid 5 A. D. 401 (40°), A. D. 466 (40°), A. D. 905 (42°), 45 162 Halley? A. D. 927 (42°), A. D. 934 (42°). Perseid 15 A. D. 36 (138°), A. D. 714 (132°), A. D. 830 142 120 1862 HI (138°), A. D. 833 (139°), A. D. 835 (138°), A. D. 841 (137°), A. D. 924 (138°), A. D. 925 (138°), A. D. 926 (138°), A. D. 933 (138°), A. D. 989 (139°), A. D. 1007 (138°), A. D. 1042 (139°), A. D. 1451 (139°), A. D. 1862 (138°). Orionid 6 A. D. 585 (201°), A. D. 930 (201°), A. D. 1436 28 161 Halley? (205°), A. D. 1439 (208°), A. D. 1465 (206°), A. D. 1623 (211°). Leonid 18 A. D. 931 (220°), A. D. 934 (218°), A. D. 967 233 163 1866i (219°), A. D. 1002 (219°), A. D. 1035 (219°), A. D. 1037 (219°), A. D. 1237 (223°), A. D. 1238 (222°), A. D. 1466 (225°), A. D. 1532 (227°), A. D. 1533 (226°), A. D. 1538 (228°), A. D. 1554 (226°), A. D. 1566 (228°), A. D. 1602 (230°), A. D. 1625 (227°), A. D. 1666, (229°), A. D. 1698 (230). Andromedid 1 A. D. 1798 (256°-259°) 242 12 Biela A 3 A. D. 36 (20°), A. D. 581 (21°), A. D. 1008 (24°). j B (Lyncid?) 4 A. D. 1037 (166°), A. D. 1063 (166°;, A. D. 1548 (167) (123) (166°), A. D. 1560 (166°). C 3 A. D. 881 (186°), A. D. 1012 (187°), A. D. 1683 (186°). D 3 A. D. 643 (239°), A. D. 970 (240°), A. D. 1395 (238°). 144 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS VOL.2 TABLE 7.—Meteor showers recorded twice Shower Possible identification with numbers, known showers from Dates of appearance, with sun's longitude table 1 Name 19,20 A. D. 466 (82°), A. D. 1539 (83°) 21,22 12 B. C. (86°), A. D. 735 (88°) Pegasid. 88° 118° 47,48 A. D. 532 (176°), A. D. 884 (174°-5°) 69,70 A. D. 1178 (215°), A. D. 1683 (2l4°-6°)_-- 104, 105 A. D. 685 (303°-5°), A. D. 764-5 (301°-7°). Leo Minorid-- 299 67 106, 107 A. D. 773 (311°), A. D. 1637 (314°) Bootid 311 71 108, 109 A. D. 308 (324°), A. D. 483 (321°) References KANDA, S. FISHER, W. J. 1935. Ancient astronomical records in Japan. 1931. Popular Astron., vol. 39, p. 573; translation (In Japanese.) from Klinkerfues, E. F. W., 1873, Got- 1948. Kagaku (Science), vol. 18, p. 329. tinger Nachr., p. 275. SEKIGUCHI, R. IBA, Y. 1917. Astron. Herald Japan Astron. Soc, vol. 10, 1934. Popular Astron., vol. 42, p. 243. nos. 8 and 9. IMOTO, S., AND HASEGAWA, I. YAMAMOTO, A. S. 1956. Kagaku-shi Kenkyu (Journ. Hist. Sci.), 1936. Publ. Kwasan Obs., vol. 1, no. 4. No. 37, p. 7. Abstract Ancient records of meteor showers in China, Korea, and Japan have been collected and translated briefly into English. Some of the showers recorded have been identified with those known today, others represent previously unknown or "lost" meteor showers.