Smithsonian

Contributions to Astrophysics

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 6

ANCIENT NOVAE

AND

METEOR SHOWERS

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Washington, D. C.

1958
Publications of the Astrophysical Observatory

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Another series is Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory. It was started

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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,

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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

of certain astronomers and Chinese scholars who prefer

to remain anonymous. Their help is gratefully acknowledged. Particular thanks go to Dr. Cecilia

Payne-Gaposchkin, whose sustained interest in the

paper was of major assistance in its publication.]

The study of novae is of great significance in

stellar evolution and radio astronomy. Can the

outbursts of novae and supernovae be radio

point sources? Are the supernovae and slow

novae associated with the planetary nebulae in

the process of evolution? Can a nova explode

more than once? Does the outburst of a nova

or supernova involve the development of a

common star into a white dwarf? What is

the frequency of supernova outbursts in the

Milky Way system? All these questions need

many observational data for solution. They

require not only modern observations, but also

historical data from the past.

Lundmark (1921) has collected many observations of ancient novae and compiled a catalog

that has been used by almost all astronomers.

But as Vorontsov-Velyaminov (1948) comments:

Lundmark's catalog contains many doubtful points.

If we rely on this material as the only source for enriching the poor observational data of the past, it is, at

best, a very risky matter.

The catalog includes 60 novae that were

discovered before or during the 19th century.

This material was drawn mainly from Ma

Tuan-lin's W$n-hsien ?ung-kKao (section on

"guest stars"). In the past, however, the

Chinese often confused novae ("guest stars")

with comets ("sweeping stars"). Moreover,

the record in Ma Tuan-lin's treatise is by no

means complete. Therefore Lundmark's work

is not entirely accurate or complete.

Recently, after searching through the Twentyfour Histories, Wen-hsien fung-k*ao, Tung-chih,

and the studies of institutions known as Hui-yao

of various dynasties, and checking with various

histories and various Japanese astronomical

materials, we rechecked Lundmark's catalog

in detail. We concluded that the following

stars are not novae, but comets.

The nova near 17 Virginia on May 3 A. D. 64.

In Tung-k^ao, the report reads:

On the 47th cyclical day, 3d month, 7th year of

Yung-p'ing of the Emperor Ming of the Han dynasty,

a "guest star" with a ray as long as 2 ch'ih [Chinese

counterpart of feet] appears at the south of T'ai-wei's

Tso Chih-fa [a region near the North Pole that includes

UMa], outside Tuan-me'n, lasting 75 days.

The 2-ch*ih long ray could indicate that this

star had a tail, and was therefore a comet.

(The date given corresponds to April 28 A. D.

64, Western calendar.)

[Translator's note.—The ancient Chinese language

uses 60 combinations of 22 characters (10 representing

the Stems of the Heaven, 12 the Branches of the Earth)

to denote hour, day, month, or year, in succession: 60

days or months or years comprise a cycle. When a

cycle is completed, a new one starts over again, and all

these cycles for day, month, and year respectively, go

on independently. No relation between day, month, and

year could be shown by this system. For instance,

there is the 54th cyclical day of the 2d month. As a

rule, however, this system was used only for the date,

rarely for the month. In most cases, only the 12 characters of the Branches of the Earth were used to indicate the hour, so the system could denote the hour

with more exactness. The 4th cyclical hour always

means the period from 5 a. m. to 7 a. m., the 11th

cyclical hour, from 7 p. m. to 9 p. m.

The modern translation of "sweeping star" is

"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

translation has been used.

The positions of each Chinese star have been indicated after checking different dictionaries and other

sources without referring to the catalog position.]

The nova on January 31 A. D. 66.

Lundmark based his identification on a sentence from Tung-Pao:

On the 25th cyclical day, 12th month, winter, 8th year

of Yung-p'ing of Emperor Hsiao Ming of the Han

dynasty, a "guest star" appears in the east.

But in the Hui-yao of the Eastern Han

dynasty, one passage records the appearance of

a comet, as follows:

On the 45th cyclical day, 1st month, a "guest star"

comes out from ChMen-niu [a region that includes

a Aquila], as long as 8 ch'ih, passing Chien-hsing

[around Sgr], disappearing at the south of Fang

[$, 6, r, v Sco].

The Ku-chin chu of the Tung Han-shu says

that the star

has passed Tou [n, X, p, «r, r, f Sgr] Chien, Ch'i, Fang,

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

is visible almost 50 days.

The 45th day of the 1st month is February 20,

which is only 20 days after January 31. During

this time, at nine each night, the stars of Tou,

Chien, Ch'i [y, S, e, 0 Sgr], Fang, Chiao, K'ang

[t, K, X, p, Vir], and I all are in the east, so that

the nova seen there on January 31 could well

have been the comet mentioned in the Hui-yao.

Furthermore, the time of perihelion of Halley's

Comet is January 26 of that year, so this

"nova" was probably Halley's Comet. In

Fien-wtoi Pao-ku lu, Chu W6n-hsin declares

that the identification of the comet seen in the

6th month, 8th year of Yung-p'ing as Halley's

Comet is obviously a mistake, because that

comet appeared on the 19th cyclical day, 6th

month, and lasted 56 days, from July 29 A. D.

65, to September 23, A. D. 65. The interval

from September 23 A. D. 65, to January 26 of

the next year is more than four months.

The nova on September 12 A. D. 684.

It is recorded in both Nihon Shuki and Ihai

kiyo:

On the 9th cyclical day, 7th month, 12th year of

T'ien-wu, a "sweeping star" appears in the northwest;

the length is more than one ehang [ten ch'ih].

The date corresponds to September 7 A. D«

684. The date of perihelion of Halley's Comet

is November 26, the same year, and it is very

often visible two or three months before or

after the date of its perihelion. Therefore, the

comet described in these Japanese books is

probably Halley's Comet (in the shape of a

crescent).

The three novae in the period from April to

June A. D. 837.

T

t

ung-ktao, in the "guest star" section, states:

On the 21st cyclical day, 3d month, 2d year of

K'ai-ch'&ng of Wftn-tsung of the T'ang dynasty, a

"guest star" appeared beneath Tung-ching [Gemini];

on the 25th cyclical day another one appeared within

Tuan-me'n [the southern star of T'ai-wei]. On the

43d cyclical day, 4th month, the one beneath Tungching disappeared; on the 10th cyclical day, 5th month,

the other one within Tuan-me'n disappeared. On the

19th cyclical day, a "guest star" like a "sparkling star"

stood beside Nan-tou [M, X, p, *, y, f Sgr] and T'ien-yo

[8 stars in the west of Nan-tou].

Williams (1871), Biot (1846), and Lundmark

(1921) consider that these three are novae:

1. From April 29 to May 21 A. D. 837, nova in Gemini.

2. From May 3 to June 17 A. D. 837, nova near w Vir.

3. On June 26 A. D. 837, nova beside 5, X Sgr.

Recently Shklovsky (1954) and Shajn (Shajn

and Hase, 1954; Hase and Shajn, 1954) have

stated that the outburst of the nova in Gemini

occurred between n, 17, in Gemini; that the

nebula IC 443 is the remnant of the nova; and,

furthermore, that it may be possible to relate

this with the radio point source (a=6h 14m,

8= +22° 38').

However, in the Book of Astronomy, a section

of the Hsin Tangshu, preceding the passage

about these novae, is another paragraph

recording the passing of a comet:

On the 43d cyclical day, 2d month, 2d year of K'aich'eng of the T'ang dynasty, there was a "sweeping

star" at Wei [0, e Peg and a Aqr] as long as 7 ch'ih,

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;

on the 58th cyclical day it was 2 chang long, moving

westward, slightly pointing to the south; on the 59th

cyclical day, at Wu-nu [e, n, v Aqr], it was 2 chang

long, 3 chlih wide; on the 60th cyclical day, it was

becoming longer and wider. On the 1st cyclical day,

3d month, at Nan-tou; on the 2d cyclical day it was 5

chang long, with a forked tail, one pointing to Ti
ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWER

S 11

1

[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 Vorontsov-Velyaminov (1948) gives an improved formula for the relation between period and range

of brightness:

log P= -2.716+0.512 A.

If we let ^1=11 mag. (the average magnitude

range of novae), we get P=824 years. In our

catalog, the interval between the two novae,

Nos. 12 and 55, occurring in the same region, is

882 years, and the interval between Nos. 5 and

33 is 719 years; these results agree closely with

our estimated figure. Therefore, it is very possible that these two cases are examples of recurrent novae.

This catalog compiles observations up to

A. D. 1700. The advance of Western astronomy since then has provided us with more

complete data. Table 1 presents the apparent

distribution of ancient novae according to galactic latitude of 61 novae, 11 supernovae, and 2

recurrent novae. This distribution is shown

graphically in figure 2. The novae included in

the table are noticeably concentrated in galactic

latitude towards the galactic plane; almost half

of them are found within the zone of ±20°

and none of them is in the zone ± 70° to ± 90°.

This distribution largely coincides with that

found in more recent novae data. Also, we

found that there are more novae in the south

of the galactic plane than in the north, in agreement with the fact that the sun lies north of

the galactic plane.

TABLE 1.—Apparent distribution of ancient novae in

galactic latitude

North galactic

latitude

0°

+ 10

+20

+ 30

+ 40

+ 50

+ 60

+ 70

to +10°

+ 20

+ 30

+ 40

+ 50

+ 60

+ 70

+ 90

Total. __

No.

of

novae

4

7

3

4

4

3

1

0

26

South galactic

latitude

0°

- 1 0

- 2 0

- 3 0

- 4 0

- 5 0

- 6 0

- 7 0

to-10°

- 2 0

- 3 0

- 4 0

- 5 0

- 6 0

- 7 0

- 9 0

Total

No.

of

novae

13

4

8

7

3

0

0

0

35

Total

No.

of

novae

17

11

11

11

7

3

1

0

61

-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

according to galactic longitude. The first six

entries include the novae in that celestial hemisphere in the direction of the galactic nucleus;

the latter six comprise those in the other celestial hemisphere of the galactic anticenter.

This statistical result indicates that there are

more novae in the celestial hemisphere toward

the galactic anticenter. However, we should

remember that part of the very bright MilkyWay section below the celestial equator (I from

240° to 300°) could not be observed from the

Yellow River region (take <f>—35°). Allowing

for this, we conclude that the apparent distribution of novae is not concentrated towards

the galactic center. The concentration towards the galactic center is small, but that

towards the galactic plane is large; this would

indicate that the novae are found in a flattened

subordinate system.

It is possible that this catalog still includes

some comets, and is therefore not completely

accurate. Further additions and modifications

will be needed in the future. The reason for

publishing this table now is mainly to offer it

as a reference for radio astronomers and investigations in stellar evolution.

It is a great pleasure to express my thanks

for the encouragement and help received from

Messers. Tsu, Yeh, Tai, and Shklovsky, during

the course of this investigation.

TABLE 2.—Apparent distribution of ancient novae in

galactic longitude

Galactic

longitude

60°

90

120

150

180

210

240

270

300

330

0

30

to 90°

120

150

180

210

240

270

300

330

360

30

60

Total

Number of

novae

4

11

7

7

2

2

3

1

11

6

4

3

61

4293G9—58-
TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae

Nova

No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Text description

7th day, 6th hour (?) . . .

new large star, with

flame.

8th day (?).. . new star.

Spring, 13th year of Chingwang of Chou dynasty,

star appearing at Wu-nu

[«, n, P Aqr].

33d year of Ch'in-shih

Huang-ti, bright star

appearing from the west.

7th month, 3d year of Kaoti of Han dynasty, star

sparkling at Ta-chiao

[Arcturus].

6th month, 1st year of

Yuan-kuang era of Han

dynasty, guest star seen

at Fang [/3, 6, r, v Sco.]

9th month, 4th year of

Ytian-fdng of Han, guest

star in the midst of

Tzti-kung [area around

north pole, including

UMa].

4th month, 5th year of

Yuan-fSng, candle star

seen between K'uei [/3, 5,

t, f, ij, n, v, x And, and

«i, T, v, <f>, x, t Psc] and

Lou [a, p, 7 Aries].

Source

Ox bone inscription, from

mound of Yin

dynasty.

Ox bone inscription, from

mound of Yin

dynasty.

Chushu-chi-nien

[Bamboo

Annals].

Han-shu [History

of Han], Wtnhsien t'ung-tfao

[General Commentary on the

Documents].

Han-shu.

Han-shu.

Han-shu,

T^ung-Wao.

Dale

Ca. 1400 B. C.

Ca. 1400 B. C.

532 B. C.

204 B. C.

134 B. C.

77 B. C.

76 B. C.

Location

Aqr

Near a Bod

Sco

UMa

Psc

R.A.

a

20

h

40»

14 20

15 40

11 36

1 20

Dec.

1

-10°

+20

- 2 5

+ 60

+ 25

I

5°

346

313

103

101

b

-31°

+ 66

+ 20

+ 55

- 3 6

Also 

ch

May 

st

This 

re

C

er

Will

ha

ne

Will

L

ch
1

0

11

1213141516

1st month, 1st year of

Ti-chieh of Han, star

sparkling at west, 2 chang

apart from T'ai-pai

[Venus].

4th month, 1st year of

Ch'u-ytian of Han, star

as large as a melon, blue-

white, 4 chHh east of No.

2 of Nan-tou [ft, A, p, a,

T, f Sgr].

2d month, 2d year of

Chien-p'ing of Ai-Ti of

Han, sweeping star ap-

pearing at Ch'ien-niu

[a, 0, y Aql] for more

than 70 days.

5th year of Chien-wu of

later Han dynasty, guest

star offending Ti-tso

[Rasalgethi].

11th month, winter, 13th

year of Yung-p'ing of

later Han, guest star

appearing at Hsuan-yuan

[around Leo and LMi,

including Regulus] for 48

days.

2d cyclical day, 1 lth month,

winter, 13th year of

Yung-yuan of later Han,

small guest star around

No. 4 of Hsuan-yuan,

blue-yellow.

45th day, 8th month, fall,

1st year of Yung-ch'u of

later Han, guest star at

the southwest of Hu-

hsing [CMa] of Tung-

cning [mainly Gem].

11th month, winter, 4th

year of Yen-kuang of

later Han, guest star

seen at T'ien-shih [zone

between Dra, Ser and be-

tween Lyr and Bod].

Honshu.

Han-shu.

Honshu.

"Biography of

Yen Kuang" in

Hou Honshu.

Ku-chin chu of

Hou Honshu

[History of

Later Han

Dynasty.]

Tung-han huiyao, Hou Honshu, TungVao.

Section "Tsaihsiang lUeh" i

n

the Tung-chih,

Tung-han huiyao.

Tung-chih, Tungk'ao, Hou Honshu.

69 B. C.

48 B. C.

5 B. C.

A. D. 29.

A. D. 70.

Dec. 30

A. D. 101.

Sept. 13

A. D. 107.

Dec. A. D. 125.

East of ft Sgr

Near a Aql

Near a Her

Leo

Near 40 Lyn

Near S CMa

Oph

18

19 40

17 20

109 2

0

7

17 20

-25

+ 10

+ 15

+ 20

+ 35

-250

335165

184

158

205

350

-4

-8

+ 24

+ 54

+ 47

-818

Will

L

ch

N

May 

so

May 

no

Biot 

ha

Will

m

th

ti

w

Biot 

ha

ne
Nova

No.

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Text description

60th cyclical day, 10th

month, 2d year of Chungp'ing of later Han, guest

star appearing at Nanmdn [a Cen, 0 Cir], big

as half of a mat, five

colors and different tempers, later a little diminishing, disappearing in

the 6th month, next year.

41st cyclical day, 9th

month, 3d year of Huangch'u of Wei dynasty,

guest star seen within

Tso Yeh-m«n [at the

west of n Virgo].

4th month, summer, 1st

year of T'ai-hsi of Chin

dynasty, guest star at

Tzti-kung.

3d month, 1st year of

Yung-k'ang of Chin, a

witch-star seen at the

south.

5th month, summer, 1st

year of Yung-hsing of

Chin, guest star staying

at Pi [Hyades; H,P Tau].

8th month, fall, 2d year of

Yung-hsing, star sparkling at Mao [Pleiades]

and Pi.

24th cyclical day, summer,

5th month, 2d year of

Shfing-p'ing of Chin,

sweeping star appearing

at T'ien-ch'uan [9 stars,

north of Musca Borealis,

including 7 stars in Per].

TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae—Continuec

Source

Hou Honshu,

Tung-k'ao.

Chinshu.

Tung-chih, Tungk'ao.

Chinshu.

Chinshu, T*ungchih, T*ung-k'ao.

T*ung-chih.

T'ung-chih.

Date

Dec. 7 A. D.

185 to July

A. D. 186.

Nov. 4

A. D. 222.

May A. D. 290.

Apr. A. D. 300.

June-July

A. D. 304.

Sept. A. D. 30o.

June 26

A. D. 358.

Location

Between a, 0

Cen

17, d Vir

Circle of perpetual apparition.

Tau

Tau

Per

R. A.

a

14

h

20-

12

4 20

4

3 20

I

Dec.

6

-60°

+ 1

+ 20

+ 20

+ 50

/

282°

248

144

141

114

b

0°

+ 61

- 1 8

- 2 2

- 4

Shklo

this 

also 

sour

Ray

443

Willia

Lun

che

Willia

this 

Cas

Willia

com

disa

Willia

Lun

che
2

4

25

26

2d month, spring, 4th year

of T'ai-ho of Chin, guest

star seen along the west

edge of TzO-kung, disap-

pearing in 7ti month.

3d month, spring, 11th

year of T'ai-yttan of

Chin, guest star at Nan-

tou [|i, X, p, <r, r, f Sgr],

disappearing in the 7th

month.

2d month, spring, 18th

year of T'ai-yuan of

Chin, guest star amidst

Wei [t, n, i, n, 0, », K, X,

p Sco], disappearing in

the 9th month.

'Hung-chih, 7"ung- kl

ao.

Vung-chih.

Chin ahu, T*ungchih, Tung-k'ao.

Mar.-Aug.

A. D. 369.

Apr. A. D. 386.

Mar.-Oct.

A. D. 393.

Among UMa,

Dra, and

Cam

Sgr

Sco

18 40

17

+ 70

- 25

•40

111

338

314

+ 38

- 11

-1

Shkl

na

th

pe

m

w

so

5 

in

m

lo

th

of 

no

Se

st

ed

ar

43

T

ra

(C

co

su

Nea

L

ch

Wil

ha

bu

si

ou

N

W

cl
TABLE 8.—A new catalog of ancient nova*—Continued

Nova

No.

27

28

29

30

31

32

Text description

6th month, summer, 1st

year of Huang-shih of

Wei [northern Wei], star

sweeping across Mao-t'ou

[Pleiades]. . . . Earlier,

a large yellow star appearing 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.

12th month, 5th year of

Tai-ch'ang of north Wei,

guest star seen at I [22

stars in Hya and Crt].

9th cyclical day, 5th

month, 2d year of T'aiyen of north Wei, star

sparkling at Fang [0, 8,

T, V SCO].

19th cyclical day, 1st

month, 3d year of T'aiyen of north Wei [14th

year of Yuan-chia of Liu

Sung], star seen before

the 9th hour, at northeast beside Ching [Gem],

with yellow-red color,

big as an orange.

1st month, 1st year of

Ytian-hsiang of north

Wei, guest star appearing at Tztt-kung.

42d cyclical day, 9th

month, 1st year of Paoting of north Chou, guest

star seen at I.

Source

Wei-shu.

Wei-shu.

Wei-shu.

Weishu, Sung-shu.

Wei-shu.

Suishu, Tungchih.

Date

Aug. A. D. 396.

A. D. 421.

June 21

A. D. 436.

Feb. 26

A. D. 437.

15 Feb.-

15 Mar.

A. D. 538.

Sept. 26

A. D. 561.

Location

Tau

Between Hya

and Crt

Sco

Gem

Circle of perpetual

apparition.

Near a Crt

R. A.

a

4

h

ll"20»

15 40

6 40

11

Dec.

1

+20°

- 2 0

- 2 5

+ 20

- 2 0

I

141°

244

313

162

240

b

-22°

+38

+ 21

+ 9

+ 37

Coul

Chan

th

co

sa

su

Will

Lu

all 

ne
3

3

34

35

36373839

49th cyclical day, 6th

month, 2d year of

Kuang-ta of Ch'e\n, guest

star seen at east of Ti

[a, 0, y, t Libra].

23d cyclical day, 4th

month, 7th year of Tai-

chien of Ch'e'n, star

sparkling at Ta-chiao

[ArcturusJ.

1st cyclical day, 10th

month, 8th year of K'ai-

huang of Sui, star spar-

kling at Ch'ien-niu [a

Aquila],

2d cyclical day, 3d month,

13th year of Chdn-kuan

of T'ang dynasty, star

sparkling at Pi and Mao.

53d cyclical day, 4th

month, 2d year of Ch'ien-

ffing of T'ang, sweeping

star at northeast be-

tween Wu-ch'e" [a, /S, 0,

• Aur] Pi and Mao, dis-

appearing on the 12th

oyclical day.

4th month, 1st year of

Tsung-chang of T'ang,

sweeping star seen at

Wu-ch'6,... star, though

sparkling, with a weak

flame, ... it disappears

after 22 days.

43d cyclical day, 3d month,

2d year of Yung-ch'un

of T'ang, sweeping star

at the north of Wu-ch'e"

for 25 days, disappearing

on the 8th oyclical day,

4th month.

T'ung-Vao.

Suishu, Tungchih.

Tung-chih,

rWinhsien fung-Pao.

Hsin 7*ang-8hu,

Chiu 7*ang-8hu,

Tung-Woo.

Tung-k'ao.

Chiu Tangshu,

T'ang hui-yao.

Tang hui-yao,

Chiu Tangshu, Hsin T*angshu, TungVao.

July 28

A. D. 567.

Apr. 27

A. D. 575.

Nov. 22

A. D. 588.

Apr. 30

A. D. 639.

Feb. 24 to

June 12

A. D. 667.

May 17 to June

14 A. D. 668.

Apr. 20 to May

15 A. D. 684.

Lib

Near a Bod

a Aql

Tau

Tau

Aur

Aur

14 40

14 20

19 40

455 2

0

5

- 15

+ 20 + 10 + 20 + 25 + 40

+40

308

346

16

141

145

136

134

+ 38

+ 66- 8

- 22

-8

+ 4 + 1

Biot 

ga

co

Ju

May 

re

of 
TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae—Continued

Nova

No.

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

Text description

18th cyclical day, 10th

month, 1st year of Chinglung of T'ang, sweeping

star seen in the west,

disappearing the filst

cyclical day, 11th month,

lasting for 43 days.

9th cyclical hour, 3d day,

7th month, 6th year of

YOrO, guest star seen beside Kaku-do [Ko-tao]

[a part of Cas, including Ruchbah], lasting 5

days.

24th day, 1st month, 2d

year of Shinki, star

sparkling at Hua-kai [a

part of Cas, including

o> Cas].

27th cyclical hour, 2d day,

12th month, 16th year

of TempyO, star sparkling at Chiang-chun [including Almach],

58th cyclical day, 1st

month, 14th year of

KOjin, star sparkling in

southwest, after 3 days

disappearing.

(Observations made by

Arabic astronomers.)

10th month, 3d year, of

T'ai-ho of T'ang, guest

star seen at Shui-wei

[including T6 f stars Jin

CMi].

Source

Tang hui-yao,

Chiu Tang-shu,

Hsin Tang-shu.

Japanese astronomical materials.

*•*

Japanese astronomical materials.

Japanese astronomical materials.

Japanese astronomical materials.

Geschichte der

Astronomic

Hsin Tang-shu,

Tung-Wao.

Date

Nov. 16 to Dec.

28 A. D. 707.

Aug. 19

A. D. 722.

Feb.11

A. D. 725.

Jan. 8 A. D. 745.

Feb. 19 A. D. 823.

A. D. 827.

Nov. A. D. 829.

Location

Near t, « Cas

Near $, « Cas

Between y, v,

r And

Sco

CMi

R. A.

a

l*40»

1 20

1 40

17±

7 20

Dec.

i

+ 60°

+ 70

+ 40

-30±

+ 10

97°

93

102

335 ±

176

6

- 1 °

+ 8

-21

-16±

+ 13

In th

cat

a s

Willi

Lu

che
474849505152

Extra 1st month, 4th year

of K'ai-ch'gng of T'ang,

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.

2d month, 5th year of K'ai-

ch'eng of T'ang, sweep-

ing star in the middle of

Tung-pi [Algenib, a And]

and Ying-shih [Markab,

Scheat], lasting 20 days.

3d month, 6th year of Ta-

chung of T'ang, sweep-

ing star appearing at

Tzii [X, <p (2) Ori] and

ShSn [a, 0, y, S, e, f, ij, K

Ori].

12th cyclical hour, 25th

day, 1st month, 1st year

of Genkei, guest star at

(Tung) Pi.

4th cyclical hour, 29th day,

3d month, 3d year of

KanpyO, guest star at the

east of Tung-hsien [4

stars, north of Markab,

Scheat, and Antares]

about one ts'un [Chinese

inch] apart.

1 lth month, 1st year of

Ching-fu of T'ang, star

sparkling at Niu [a, 0,

x Ari, u, A, 0 Sgr] and

Ton [M, X, P, a, r, f Sgr].

Hsin T*ang-shu.

Hsin Ttang-8hv,

T'ung-k'ao.

Hsin T'ang-shu.

Japanese astro-

nomical materi-

als.

Japanese astro-

nomical materi-

als.

Hsin Tang-ihu.

Mar. 12-21

A. D. 839.

Mar. 20

A. D. 840.

Apr. A. D. 852.

Feb. 11

A. D. 877.

May 11

A. D. 891.

Dec. A. D. 892.

Per

Peg

Ori

Between a And

and 7 Peg

In the east of <p,

x, f> « Oph

Between Sgr

and Cap

3 20

23 40

5 40

0

16 20

19 40

+ 40

+ 20

+ 10

+20

-20

-20

120

72

164

78

324

348

-12

-40

-8

-41

+ 18

-22
TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae—Continued

Nova

No.

Text description Source Date Location R.A.

a

Dec.

b

53 1st month, 3d year of

Kuang-hua of T'ang,

guest star appearing at

Huan-ch§ of Chungyuan [including 60 Her,

namely T'ai-wei area

between UMa and Vir,

between Boo and Leo]

big as a peach, the light

shining towards Huanche", which could not be

seen then.

54 1st month, 2d year of

T'ien-fu of T'ang, guest

star like a peach beneath

Hua-kai [6 stars, including u Cas] of Tzti-kung

[zone around the north

pole, including UMa],

on the 4th cyclical day,

a sweeping star begins

from Wdn-ch'an g

[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

Ch'ien-hua of Liang dynasty offending Ti-tso.

Hain Tang-thu,

Tung-Woo.

Feb. A. D. 900. Her

1 7 h + 15* + 29' Biot 

hav

Tung-lfao. A. D. 902. Near w, ^ Cas l

h

30

m

+ 65

(

97°

T'ung-tfao. June A. D. 911. Near a Her 17 20 + 15 + 24 Biot 

hav

Th

cur

of 
5

6

57

58

59

After [or in] the 5th month,

till before [or in] the 7th

month, 8th year of EnchS,

guest star entering Yli-

lin [including stars from

Aquarius].

3d year of Ching-t6 of

southern Sung, a big star

seen at the west of T'ien-

ti [?, may be Ti], shining

like a golden circle, no

one knows this star.

14th cyclical day, 1st

month, 4th year of Ta-

chung-hsiang-fu of Sung,

guest star seen before

Nan-tou [n, X, p, a, T, f

Sgr].

42d cyclical day, 6th month,

1st year of Ming-tao of

Sung, guest star appear-

ing near Pi, big as Mu

[Jupiter], with a slight

flame, lasting 13 days,

till 54th cyclical day.

Japanese astronom-

ical materials.

Yu-hu chHng-hua.

Sung-shih, Wtnhsien, T'ung- kl

ao.

A. D. 930.

A. D. 1006.

Feb. 8 A. D

. 1011.

July 15-27

A. D. 1032.

Near « Lup

15

19 20

- 50

- 30

292

336

+ 6

- 22

This 

no

po

or

ap

Ch

an

in 

M

Sc

su

no

He

Ba

aro

nin

ma

sam
TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae— Continued

Nova

No.

60

61

62

63

64

65

Text description

2d oyclical day, 5th month,

1st year of Chih-ho of

Sung, guest star appearing at southeast of T'ienkuan [on the south of

Wu-chu or the other

name for Chiao, Niu,

two constellations] several t»*un long, lasting

more than one year.

33d cyclical day, 8th month,

1st year of Hsien-yung

of Liao dynasty, guest

star invading T'ien-miao

[14 stars, on the south

of Chang or the other

name for Tou].

44th cyclical day, 11th

month, 3d year of Hsining of Sung, guest star

appearing at T'ien-ch'un

[around Cetus].

43d cyclical day, 12th

month, 5th year of T'aik'ang of Liao dynasty,

sweeping star invading

Wei.

5th month, 8th year of

Shao-hsing of Kao-tsung

of Sung, guest star staying at Lou [a, /3, y Ari].

9th cyclical day, 2d month,

9th year of Shao-hsing of

Sung, guest star staying

at K'ang [h K, \, p Vir].

Source

Sung-shih.

"Biography of

Emperor Taotsung," from

Liao-shih

T'ung-k*ao, Sung8hih.

Hsu"... t'ung-k'ao,

Liao-shih.

T*ung-k*ao.

Sung-shih,

Tung-Wao.

Date

June 10

A. D. 1054.

Sept. 11

A. D. 1065.

Dec. 25

A. D. 1070.

Jan. 6

A. D. 1080.

June A. D. 1138.

Mar. 23

A. D. 1139.

Location

Near f Tau

Between Hya

and Ant

Cet

Sco

Near 0 Ari

Vir

ft. A.

a

5>30"

10 20

2 40

17

1 50

14 20

Dec.

S

+ 20°

i

- 3 0

+ 10

- 4 0

+ 22

- 1 0

I

155°

265

132

314

112

306

b

go

+32

- 4 2

- 1

- 3 9

+ 45

The 

Ta

(M

na

pe

a r

(A 

no

in 

M

th

sh

ve

M

(1

Biot 

ha

Biot 

ha
6

6

676869

38th cyclical day, 7th

month, 2d year of Ch'un-

hsi of Sung, star spar-

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.

6th cyclical day, 6th

month, 8th year of

Ch'un-hsi of Sung, guest

star appearing at K'uei

[Mirach, 5, «, f, 17, ft, v, ir

And <r3, T, v, <p, x, f Psc],

invading the Ch'uan-shfi-

hsing [9 stars on the

north of Hua-kai], till

the 10th cyclical day, 1st

month, next year, lasting

totally 185 days.

52d cyclical day, 6th month,

3d year of Chia-t'ai of

Sung, one star emerging

from the southeast direc-

tion, at Wei, [e, ft, f, ij, 0,

t, K, X, v Sco] with blue-

white color, no flame or

tail, a guest star, large

as T'u-hsing [Saturn].

52d cyclical day, 6th

month, 3d year of Chia-

t'ai of Sung, guest star

appearing at the south-

east, among Wei, blue-

white color, big as T'ien-

hsing [another name for

T'u-hsing, Saturn], on

the 1st cyclical day, stay-

ing at Wei.

2d cyclical day, 6th month,

17th year of Chia-ting of

Sung, guest star staying

in Wei.

Sungshih,

Sungshihhsin-pien.

Sungshih,

Tung-k'ao.

Tnung-k*ao.

Sung-8hih.

Sungshih.

Aug. 10-15

A. D. 1175.

Aug. 6 A. D.

1181 to Feb.

6 A. D. 1182.

July 28 to Aug.

6 A. D. 1203.

July 17

A. D. 1224.

Among Her,

Bod, and Dra

Cas

Sco

Sco

161 4

0

17

17

+ 60 + 70

- 40

- 40

58

95

314

314

+ 44- 1 _ 1

(Rec

ap

Ch

of 

na

Jap

Az

Gy

M

Hy

Near 

W

-4

Shklo

thi
TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae—Continued

Nova

INO.

70

71

72

73

Text description

34th cyclical day, 11th

month, 3d year of Shaoting of Sung, star sparkling beneath T'u-ssOhsing [2 stars, on the

northeast of Rasalgethi]

of T'ein-shih, disappearing on the 19th cyclical

day, 2d month, next

year.

47th cyclical day, extra 9th

month, 5th year of Shaoting of Sung, sweeping

star seen at the eastern

Chiao [Spica, f, 9, i Vir]

disappearing on the 56th

cyclical day, 10th month.

8th cyclical day, 5th month,

4th year of Chia-hsi of

Sung, sweeping star seen

at Shih [Markab, Scheat],

disappearing on the 8th

cyclical day 3d month.

27th cyclical day, 7th

month, 4th year of Chiahsi of Sung, guest star

appearing at Wei.

Source

Sung-shih, Sungshih-hsin-pien.

Sung-shih-hsin-pien,

Sung-shih, Chinshih, HsU . . .

Vung-k'ao.

Sung-shih.

Sung-shih, Hsu ...

fung-k*ao.

Date

Dec. 15 A. D.

1230 to Mar.

20 A. D. 1231.

Oct. 18 to Nov.

26 A. D. 1232.

June 5 A. D.

1240 to Apr.

25 A. D. 1241.

Aug. 17

A. D. 1240.

Location

In south of

109 Her

Between a and f

Vir

Peg

Sco

R.A.

a

18"20»

13 20

23

17

Dec.

6

+ 20°

- 1 0

+ 20

- 4 0

I

16°

286

60

314

b

+ 13°

+ 51

- 3 6

- 1

Bio

h

M

th

p

an

m

b

H

to 

th

C

th

al

J

H

ge

ga

ji 
7

4

757677787980

54th cyclical day, 8th month,

1st year of Ta-t6 of YUan,

witch star appearing at

K'uei on the 58th cyclical

day [1st day of] 9th

month, witch star again

invading K'uei.

11th cyclical day, 12th

month, 2d year of Ta-t6

of Ylian, sweeping star

coming out from Tzti-

sun-hsing [4 stars, south

of CMa and Lep].

44th cyclical day, 3d month,

2d year of Huang-ch'ing

of Yuan, sweeping star

appearing at Tung-ching.

3d cyclical day, 2d month,

21st year of Hung-wu of

Ming dynasty, star ap-

pearing at Tung-pi.

17th cyclical day, 10th

month, 2d year of Yung-

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.

27th cyclical day, 8th

month, 5th year of Hsuan-

te of Ming, star seen

beside Nan-ho, big like

a bullet, blue-black, last-

ing 26 days.

24th cyclical day, 12th

month, 5th year of Hsfian-

t6 of Ming, a star like a

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.

YUanshih, Hsu

fung-k'ao.

Yuanshih, Hsu

fung-Vao.

Yuan-shih.

Ming-shih.

Ming-shih.

Ming-shih,

Hstt . . .

t'ung-k*ao.

Ming shih,

II8U . . .

t'ung-k*ao.

Sept. 9 to Sept.

18 A. D. 1297.

Jan. 24 A. D

. 1299.

Apr. 13

A. D. 1313.

Mar. 29

A. D. 1388.

Nov. 14

A. D.1404.

Sept. 9

A. D.1430.

Jan. 4 to Apr. 3

A. D. 1431.

Between And and

Psc

Col

Gem

Between y Peg

and a And

Lyr

Near a,"/3 CMi

Near n. a>. \p Eri

166 4

0

0197 2

0

5

+ 30

-40

+ 20

+ 20

+ 40

+ 7

-10

95

214

162

78

38

176

177

-32

-25+ 9

-41

+ 14

+ 13

-27

Lan

ga

po

Will

m

th

Will

m

th
TABLE 3.—A new catalog of ancient novae—Continued

Nova

No.

81

82

83

84

Text description

29th cyclical day, 6th

montb, 5th year of T'ienshun of Ming, a pinkwhite star appearing beside Tsung-chfing-hsing

[2 stars, southeast of

Rasalgethi], transforming into white color vapor, and disappearing on

the 32d cyclical day.

53d cyclical day, 10th

month (winter), 6th year

of Lung-ch'ing of Ming,

sweeping star seen at

northeast, disappearing

in the 4th month, 2d

year of Wen-li.

5th cyclical day, a big star,

as large as the sun, apappearing from the west,

all stars circle around it.

46th cyclical day, 6th

month, 12th year of Wanli of Ming, star coming

out from Fang.

Source

Mingshih,

ma . . .

fung-k'ao.

"Biography of

Shen-tsung"

from Mingshih.

Mingshih, Mingshih-k*ao, HsU

. . . fung-k'ao.

Mingshih, Hsu. . .

t*ung-k*ao.

Date

July 30 to Aug.

2 A. D. 1461.

Nov. 8 A. D.

1672 to May

A. D. 1574.

Feb. 22

A. D. 1578.

July 11

A. D. 1584.

i

1

I

Location

Near ft Oph

Near y Cas

Sco

R.A.

a

17

h

40»

0 40

15 40

Dec.

6

0°

+ 60

- 2 5

I

353°

90

313

b

+ 13°

- 2

+ 21

Lun

ch

This 

a 

ra

(A 

no

in 

to

dy

th

T

C

hs

Will

L

ch

th

no

Will

L

ch

th

er

by 

th

in

Ch

for

in 
8

5

86

87

88

89

90

2d cyclical day, 9th month,

32d year of Wan-li, a

star with a split tail, like

a bullet, with red-yellow

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.

37th year of Wan-li of

Ming, big star seen at

southwest, with shining

flame.

10th cyclical day, 4th

month, 1st year of T'ien-

ch'i, of Ming, red star

seen at east.

25th cyclical day, 1st

month, 15th year of

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.

46th cyclical day, 10th

month, 27th year of

K'ang-hsi of Ch'ing,

strange star seen at

K'uei, white.

46th cyclical day, 8th

month, 29th year of

K'ang-hsi, strange star

seen at Ch'i [y, 6, *, 0

Sgr].

Ming-shih, Hsu . . . t'ung-k*ao.

Ming-shih, Hsu . . . t'ung-k*ao.

Ming-shih, Hsu . . . t*ung-k*ao.

Ch'ingshih-kao.

ChHng-shih-kao.

Ch'ingshih-kao.

Oct. 10

A. D. 1604,

to Oct. 7

A. D. 1605.

A. D. 1609.

May 22

A. D. 1621.

Feb. 18

A. D. 1676.

Nov. 2

A. D. 1688.

Oct. 18

A. D. 1690.

Oph

Eri

And

18

- 10

+ 30

- 30

337

169

95

331

-4

- 40

- 32

- 10

This 

W

Lu

m

Will

Lu

ch

the

no

Willi

ma

in 
130 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS YOU a

References SHAJN, G. A., AND HASH, W. F.

BIO T E c 1954. Dolk. Akad. Nauk. S. S. R., vol. 96, p. 713.

1846. 7n Connaissance des temps. Paris.

 SHKI ^ I 8

^

T

' i f," *, ., ^T , c a T>

DUTVXNDAK, J. J. L. v

 1954

- 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

-

 Gaseou s nebula e an d ne w

 "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.

 extracte d fro m Chin ese 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

English translations of some ancient historical records of astronomy in the Orient

that included many references to meteor

showers. From these and other sources (given

in table 3) we have compiled a list of ancient

showers. Those recorded for China were

collected mainly from "Ku-chin t*u-shu-chicheng"; those for Korea were collected from

Sekiguchi's (1917) list. The records made in

Japan during the period from 15 B. C. to

1600 A. D. were obtained from Kanda's

(1935) list. The original records, which have

not been translated into any foreign language,

recently were published in Japan (Imoto and

Hasegawa, 1956).

Table 1 lists 118 meteor showers recorded

in the Orient during the past 25 centuries.

These showers are arranged in order of the

solar longitude reduced to the mean equinox

1

 In this paper the authors transliterated the Japanese, Chinese, and

Korean words by a method whose results do not always agree with the

systems generally accepted by scholars in this country. For this reason,

certain changes have been made. To make It easier for a student to

consult the oriental sources from which the data were taken Qlsted in

table 3a), the names of the source books have been transliterated according to the following systems: For the Chinese words, the Wade system

was used, except for some names of prefectures and districts, where the

conventional form b used; for the Japanese words, the Hepburn system;

and for the Korean words, the Rebchauer system. Also, the forms of

some names in the list of historical eras (given In the first column of table

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

reasons mentioned above, there may be a few inconsistencies in transliteration between this paper and the preceding one, "A New Catalog of

Ancient Novae," by Hsl Tse-tsung, In which the Wade-OUes system was

used.

* Calendar Association of Japan, Osaka, Japan.

> Ananatan Institute of Astro-Oompotetton, Shimlcn, Japan.

of 1950. The date of each appearance is

fixed by the name and year of the era, by

the moon of the year according to the local

lunar calendar, and by the day of the moon,

indicated by its old name. Each date is also

given according to the Julian calendar before

A. D. 1582 and according to the Gregorian

calendar after A. D. 1583.

Table 2 gives brief translations of the recorded

description of each meteor shower. Table

3 gives the reference books from which this

list was compiled, and in table 3a the name of

each source is transliterated according to the

local pronunciation in the relevant country.

The distribution of the records, by centuries,

is shown in table 4.

Table 5 shows the distribution of the meteor

showers (not including those given in table 1

under "Exact date unknown"), according to

the sun's longitude for every 60 degrees. The

number of showers identified with known

showers listed in current scientific literature

is shown in column 3, while the number of

showers previously unknown and not identified

is shown in column 4. The number of "recurrent" showers listed in column 5 pertains to

those showers that appeared more than twice

(including the Andromedids). In column 6 is

given the total number of recurrent and

unidentified meteor showers estimated to occur

for every 60 degrees of solar longitude.

Meteor showers seem to be distributed

uniformly in solar longitude. An analysis of

131
132 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS TOUX

columns 5 and 6 in table 5 gives us the following:

0.0 £mB£ 3.4,

where mB is the mean number of recurrent

identified showers for 60° of solar longitude,

and

8.4 £mB+Non^ 12.0

where ma+Non is the mean value for the total

number of identified and unidentified meteor

showers for 60° of solar longitude.

Table 6 lists the recurrent meteor showers

and the years of their recorded appearance,

with the sun's longitude given in parentheses.

The showers were identified on the basis of the

sun's longitude only. Six well-known meteor

showers were definitely identified: the Lyrid,

Aquarid, Perseid, Orionid, Leonid, and Andromedid showers. The four unidentified, probably recurrent, showers that were recorded

more than twice are designated by capital

letters in column 9 of table 1 and in the last

column of table 2.

Orbital elements of recent showers are given

in columns 4 and 5 of table 6, where i is the

inclination of the orbital plane. When i is

near 90°, the amount of perturbation of the

orbit is supposed to be small. For example,

there is almost no change in the longitudes of

the ascending node (&) for the Lyrids and

Perseids. Figures 1—3 show the correlations

between the sun's longitude and the &'s of

meteor showers (hereafter called the meteor

shower's longitude). The &'s of the parent

comets were obtained from Yamamoto's (1936)

catalog and referred to the mean equinox of

1950.0.

AQUAKIDS AND ORIONIDS.—In figure 1, the

longitudes of Comet Halley and the Aquarid

and Orionid showers are shown. The variations

of the three longitudes, though the deviations

are comparatively large, seem to run nearly

parallel to each other. However, the difference

between Comet Halley's Q> and the longitude of

the meteor showers is too large for Comet Halley

to be considered as associated with the Aquarid

or Orionid showers. If we considered only the

discrepancies of longitude, we might doubt the

real relation existing between these showers

and Comet Halley.

LEONIDS.—In figure 2, the longitude of the

Leonids and of Comet 1866 i are shown, on the

assumption that Comet 1866 i is the same as

Comet 1366. It is evident that the trend of

these variations in longitude is the same and

in good coincidence.

58° -

210°

200*

40*

-58°

50"

--©

500

210°

44°

40*

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

220'

236*

-230*

-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

of the descending nodes of Comet Biela

and of the Andromedids are shown. The

identification as Andromedids of the shower

recorded in 1798 (No. 100 in table 1) has been

confirmed by European records of their appearance on December 6. The perturbation of

Comet Biela's orbit is comparatively large, so

that it is very difficult to identify recorded

showers as Andromedids unless the detailed

perturbations of the comet's orbit are known.

Kanda (1948) has suggested that the date of

the Andromedids' appearance was made earlier

by 12 days during the years from 1772 to 1866

A. D. Many early showers are listed by

Klinkerfues (Fisher, 1931), but before 1798

their identification as Andromedids seem to be

doubtful.

OTHER RECURRENT SHOWERS.—Other recurrent meteor showers, which were recorded

more than three times at the same solar longitude, are shown in table 6 with the designations

A, B, c, and D.

Shower B is probably identical with the

Lyncids, with orbital elements Q> and i equal

to 167° and 123° respectively. The inclination

of the Lyncids' orbital plane is 123° so that

there seem to be only small perturbations in

the longitude, as with the Perseids.

260"

250"

240"

1

-

-

-

_

—

-

—

-

1

1

\ » O

\p o

\

\

\

\

\

1

-

-

-

I

\

\

\

\

\

\

\

t

\

X

1 *

- 260'

- 250'

- 240*

1700 1800

Year

1900

FIGURE 3.—Longitudes of Andromedid showers and Comet

Biela. Ordinate, longitude of the sun; abscissa, years; solid

circles, Andromedid showers listed in table 6; open circles,

other observations; dotted circle, recent observation. Extrapolated curve shows longitude of ascending node of

Comet Biela.

Showers A, C, and D have not been identified

with any showers known from recent observations.

METEOR SHOWERS RECORDED TWICE.—Some

additional meteor showers, listed in table 7,
134 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS VOL.*

were recorded only twice at the same longitude,

coinciding with each other within two or three

degrees. The third column shows possible

identifications by means of longitude.

The age of a meteor shower may be determined from these old records. The present list

extends the known activity of the Perseids as

far back as 36 A. D. and also presents some

"lost" meteor showers, such as those designated A, B, c, and D. It is hoped that records

of other showers listed here will be compared

further with observations in the European

records, so that the life-history of meteor

showers may be more exactly determined.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.—In conclusion we express our hearty thanks to Messrs. S. Kanda,

K. Kudara, and Y. Iba, who gave us many

helpful suggestions.

TABLE 1.—Dates of meteor showers

(1)

Shower

number

(2)

Name of era

(3)

Year

(4)

Moon

(5)

Day

(Lunar calendar)

(6)

Julian (before A. D.

1582) or Gregorian

calendar

(7)

Long.

O

1950.0

(8)

Country

(9)

Shower

(10)

Source

record

in

table 3

n

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

Chien Wu_._

P*y6ngw6nwang

Ta Chung

HsiangFu

Chou Chuang

Wang

Yung Shih_-

Injong

Lung An

T a i Shin

Tien Yu

Tien Ch*eng_

Ying Shun

Ch*ien Hsing.

T a i An

Ta Ming

HoPMng

Hyogongwang

Cheng Te

K'aiCh'eng.

T a i Shih___.

Chia Ching.-

YOan Yen.. .

Tampyo

Sdngdokwang

Ch'ang

Ch*mg

Chhing T<j

Kongmin12

23

1

10

14

5

2

2

2

1

1

4

5

5

9

4

2

18

1

7

5

4

13

12

Cbi-wei? (I-wei=

30th).

Last day (30th)..

Wu-shfin (17th)..

Hsin-mao

Euei-wei (26th)..

Wu-ch6n (1st).. .

Chia-yin (9th).. .

I-wei (8th)

I-ch'ou (6th)

Kfing-shta (9th) _

Ting-yu (27th)__.

K6ng-yin (21st)..

Chi-hai (18th)

Chi-mao (22d)___.

Night of the 13th..

Ting-yu (1st)

Tuchinoto-hituzi

(4th)

Mar. 15 A. D. 36

Mar. 20 A. D. 581.. .

Mar. 26 A. D. 1008..

Mar. 23 687 B. C

Mar. 26 15 B. C

Apr. 3 A. D. 1136.. .

Apr. 8 A. D. 401

Apr. 8 A. D. 466

Apr. 13 A. D. 905.. .

Apr. 13 A. D. 927.. .

Apr. 13 A. D. 934.. .

Apr. 24 A. D. 1022. .

Apr. A. D. 458

Mar.-Apr.A. D. 461.

Mar.-Apr. A. D. 464.

Mar.-Apr. A. D. 905.

Apr. A. D. 1506

May 4 A. D. 839

May 22 A. D. 466.. .

May3 0 A. D. 1539..

May 23 12 B. C

May 30 A. D. 735.. .

Apr.-May A. D. 706.

May-June A. D. 824.

May-June A. D. 1640.

May-June A. D. 1363.

20<

21

24

31

30

31

40

40

42

42

42

52

62

82

83

86

88

China

Korea. _

China

China. _

China..

Korea..

China -

China..

China..

China..

China..

China..

China..

ChinaChina..

Korea..

China. .

China. _

China. _

China..

China..

Japan..

KoreaChina. _

China..

Korea. _

A

A

Lyrid

Lyrid

Lyrid

Aquarid—

Aquarid

Aquarid..

Aquarid..

Aquarid. .

1

1

9

1

10

2

1

11

2

wang

< No Chi-wei occurs in this month. Ifwe take it as I-wei, the date i« Mar. 15 A. D. 36.
ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS

TABLE 1.—Dates of meteor showers—Continued

135

(i)

Shower

number

(2)

Name of era

(3)

Year

(4)

Moon

(5)

Day

(Lunar calendar)

(6)

Julian (before A. D.

1582) or Gregorian

calendar

(7)

Long.

O

1950.0

(8)

Country

(9)

Shower

(10)

Source

record

in

table 3

27

28

29

30

'31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

*49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

4

58

59

60

P'ySngwonwang

Chinp'yongwang

Chung-jong__

Hsiang Yuan.

Chien Wu...

K'ai Yuan...

TaiHo

T'ai Ho

T'ai Ho

Hui Ch'ang—

Tung Kuan.

Tung Kuan.

T'ien Ch'eng.

Ch'ang Hsing

Eiso

Kanko.

Ch5ng-jong_.

Ching Tai . .

Bunkyu

Ho P'ing

f S6ng-wang _ _

| Chung Ta

I Tung

Genkei

Ninna

Ching Yu.. .

Chia Yu

Myong-jong.

Myftng-jong.

Chia Ching

Chung Ho._ .

14

1

12

2

4

7

9

1

1

4

8

3

15

12

Hsin-wei (9th)

Wu-wu (19th)

Wu-hsu (5th)

I-mao (29th)

Hsin-wei (29th) _ _.

Wu-tsu (3d)

Ting-yu (23d)

Wu-chto (29th)...

[Chia-sh6n (17th)..

IPing-hsu (19th)...

JKSng-yin (29th)...

(Hsin-mao (30th)..

I-wei (10th)

fKeng-wu (25th)...

ll-hai (1st)

The 19th

[The 4th

< The 8th

lThe9th

Ting-wei (6th)

Ping-shen (29th)..

The 15th

Chi-mao (12th)...

Chia-chSn (12th)._

The 4th and 5th__.

Wu-she"n (8th)

I-ch'ou (26th)

Chia-wu (21st)

Ting-yu (3d)

(Chi-ch'ou (13th)._

JKteg-yin (14th)__.

ITing-yu (21st)

Wu-wu (23d)

June-July A. D. 566.

June-July A. D. 586.

July 5 A. D. 1519...

July 10 A. D. 784. _.

July 17 A. D. 36

July 15 A. D. 714. _.

July 22 A. D. 830...

July 23 A. D. 833...

July 22 A. D. 835. . .

July 21 A. D. 841.. .

July 21 A. D. 924. . .

July 23 A. D. 924...

July 22 A. D. 925. . .

July 23 A. D. 925...

July 22 A. D. 926...

July 20 A. D. 933. . .

July 25 A. D. 933...

July 24 A. D. 989...

July 20 A. D. 1007

July 24 A. D. 1007

July 25 A. D. 1007...

July 25 A. D. 1042...

July 27 A. D. 1451. .

Aug. 10 A. D. 1862. _

Aug. 1 A. D. 464

Aug. 28 A. D. 532...

f Aug. 28 A. D. 884 —

JAug. 29 A. D. 884...

Aug.-Sept. A. D. 885.

Aug. 21 A. D. 1037-

Aug. 22 A. D. 1063—

Aug. 24 A. D. 1548. .

Aug. 24 A. D. 1560—

July-Aug. A. D. 1533.

Sept. 10 A. D. 881 —

Sept. 11 A. D. 881...

Sept. 18 A. D. 881...

Sept. 11 A. D. 1012..

117'

127

138

132

138

139

138

137

137

139

138

139

138

136

141

139

135

139

140

139

139

138

150

176

174

175

166

166

166

166

186

187

194

187

Korea..

Korea..

Korea

China

ChinaChina..

China

China. _

China..

China. _

• China. _

•China..

China..

•ChinaJapan..

•Japan..

Korea..

China.-

Japan._

China. .

Korea..

ChinaJapan.

Japan..

ChinaChina

Korea. _

Korea..

China..

•China.

Perseid—

Perseid?—

Perseid—

Perseid—

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid...

Perseid—

Perseid

Perseid—

Perseid—

Perseid—

Perseid—

Perseid

Perseid—

C.

China. _ C

9

15

9

1

Chia-chen (5th). . . 186

Ta Chung

Hsiang Fu

Suk-jong

Suinin

T'ai K'ang. .

Chindokwang

* In the book of Wen-hsten-t'ung-k'ao, this shower Is recorded on the day of Wa- yln, which is not in the sixth month of the year 12 of the era.

• This shower is recorded in 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.

Sept. 25 A. D. 1683-

Sept.-Oct. 15 B. C .

Sept.-Oct. A. D. 288.

Sept.-Oct. A. D. 647.

KoreaJapan..

China..

Korea..

12

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

7

7

7

13

13

14

2

1

15

6

2

1

16

17

18

1

2

2

19

12

20

5

2
136 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS

TABLE 1.—Dates of meteor showers—Continued

VOL.J

(1)

Shower

number

(2)

Name of era

(3)

Year

(4)

Moon

(5)

Day

(Lunar calendar)

(6)

Julian (before A. D.

1582) or Gregorian

calendar

(7)

Long.

O

1950.0

(8)

Country

(9)

Shower

(10)

Source

record

in

table 3

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

• 8 7

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

Aejangwang

Chia Ching_.

Chih Te

Ch'ang

Using

Cheng "FungCheng Tung.

Kansei

Tien Ch'ing.

My6ng-jong_

Suk-jong

Ch'ang Hsing.

(Tien Hsien_.

jCh'ing Tai_.

K5ho

[Hsien P*ing_.

lCh5ho

Ch6gen

ChOryaku...

Katei

Ryakunin

Bunshd

Chung-jong-.

fChung-jong_.

iTenmon

IChia Ching..

Chung-jong_.

My5ng-jong.

MySng-jong.

fWanLL

ISdnjo—

Sept.-Oct. A. D. 801

In jo.

K'angHsi— .

Genroku

Pojang-wang.

K'aiPao

Hung Wu._-

Chia (Thing

Temmu

Sinmun-wangSdngdOkwang

ChiaChing..

Chia Ching...

13

5

1

1

4

6

3

8

9

1

4

5

4

8

1

3

1

1

27

28

2

12

33

9

21

30

35

5

11

2

3

28

12

14

4

17

11

13

9

9

9

9

9

9

10

10

9

10

10

10

10

9

9

• 9

10

10

10

10

10

10

Sept.-Oct. A. D. 1534.

Wu-shen (24th).

Hsin-yu (1st)

Sept. 23 A. D. 585._

Sept. 25 A. D. 930..

I-yu (22d)

Kuei-mao (27th).

The 13th

Chia-yin (26th) . .

Chi-wei (28th)

J6n-sh6n (4th)

IChia-nsu (6th)

fPing-hsu (2d)

JTing-hai (3d)

{KSng-tsu (3d)

iHsin-ch'ou (4th).

The 9th

[Ping-shto (4th) . .

IThe 6th, the 7th.

The 11th

The 3d

The 29th.. .

The 9th

The 13th

Hsin-wei (26th). _

fChia-tsu (7th)

{The 8th

ICnia-tsu (7th)

Chia-chfin (4th)_.

Ping-yin (28th) .. .

Hsin-wei (14th)

Hsin-ssu (23d)

The 28th

Ktog-chen (5th)

Hsin-ssu (6th)

J6n-wu (7th)

The 11th

The 6th

The 15th

K6ng-wu (Oct. 2d)

Hsin-ssfl (21st)

Night of the 17th

The 23d

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

2 A. D. 1436..

5 A. D. 1439..

3 A. D. 1465..

20 A.

11 A.

23 A.

25 A.

15 A.

16 A.

13 A.

14 A.

14 A.

D. 1623.

D. 1178-

D. 1683-

D. 1683-

D. 931.. .

D. 931—

D. 934...

D. 934...

D. 967...

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

12 A. D. 1002..

14 A. D. 1002,.

15 A. D. 1002..

14 A. D. 1035..

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

14 A. D. 1037.

19 A. D. 1237.

18 A. D 1238-

22 A. D 1466..

24 A. D 1532_.

24 A. D. 1533. .

25 A. D. 1533.

24 A. D. 1533..

26 A. D. 1538..

24 A. D. 1554..

26 A. D. 1566..

Nov. 6 A.

Nov. 11 A

Nov. 4 A.

Nov. 5 A.

Nov. 6 A.

Nov. 7 A.

D. 1602._.

D. 1602..

D. 1625...

D. 1625-..

D. 1625__.

D. 1666._.

Nov. 8 A.

Nov. 1 A.

Nov. 3 A.

Nov. 3 A.

Nov. 3 A.

Nov. 24 A

D. 1698...

D. 643--..

D. 970--..

D. 1395...

D. 1533__.

D. 685...

Nov.-Dec.

Nov.-Dec.

A. D. 684.

A. D. 718.

Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1532.

Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1534.

201*

201

205

208

206

211

215

214

216

220

221

218

219

219

217

219

220

219

219

223

222

225

227

226

227

226

228

226

228

228

223

226

227

228

229

230

239

240

238

247

263

KoreaChina..

China..

China..

China..

China..

Japan..

China..

Korea..

\ Korea..

China..

[ChinaJapan..

1 China..

J Japan..

Japan..

Japan..

Japan..

Japan..

Japan..

Korea..

Korea.

Japan..

China..

Korea.

Korea.

Korea.

China..

Korea.

[Korea.

China..

Japan..

Korea.

China..

China..

China..

Japan..

Korea .

Korea.

China..

China..

Orionid.

Orionid.

Orionid.

Orionid.

Orionid.

Orionid.

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid—

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid—

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

D

D

D

21

22

7

1

1

23

1

2

12

7

24

7

13

1

13

25

25

26

27

23

12

12

27,28

1

12

12

2

1

2

12

2

12

29

30

2

1

1

31

20

2

2

32

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

TABLE 1.—Dates of meteors showers—Continued

137

(i)

Shower

number

(2)

Name of era

(3)

Year

(4)

Moon

(5)

Day

(Lunar calendar)

(6)

Julian (before A. D.

1582) or Gregorian

calendar

(7)

Long.

O

1950.0

(8)

Country

(9)

Shower

(10)

Source

record

in

table 3

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

Chia Ching.

Suk-jong

Kansei

Kansei

Enryaku _.

Chung Ho_

Tenmu.

^Kuang Te..

KySngdfik-

[ wang

Hoki

Injo

Yung Chia_.

TaiHo

Suk-jong

T*ae-jong

Chap'a-wang

Hsia Hoa

Shih Ti

Kuei

Sung Hsiang

Kung

Piryu-wang_.

Piyu-wang . .

HunsOngwang

Ch'ung Chen.

18

9

10

7

3

3

13

2

23

15

1

7

6

10

25

10

13

28

10

15

10

10

10

11

11

11

11

11

12

12

1

12

10

1

1

1

The 29th

The 3d

The eve of the winter solstice.

Kinoto-mi (8th)._.

Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1539.

Nov.-Dec. A. D. 1683.

Dec. 6 A. D. 1798...

Tuchinoe-tatu

(21st)

Kanoe-uma (23d)

Ping-yin (4th)

The 11th

Dec. 9 A. D. 1798...

Dec. 20 A. D. 1795..

Dec. 24 A. D. 784...

Dec. 883-Jan. A. D.

884.

Jan. 1 A. D. 685

256"

259

270

293

Jan. 3 A. D. 685

Dec. 31 A. D. 764. _.

Jan. 6 A. D. 765

Tu chinoto-hituzi

(13th)

Chia-ch6n (4th) _ - -

Ting-hai

I-hai

Chi-yu (18th)

Chi-mao (12th). - .

Jan. 10 A. D. 773

Jan. 29 A. D. 1637.. _

Jan. 20 A. D. 308

Jan. 18 A. D. 483

Feb. 18 A. D. 1680. _.

Feb. 15 A. D. 1410. _.

Feb.-Mar. A. D. 104.

1809 B.C

303

305

301

307

311

314

324

321

334

342

EXACT DATE UNKNOWN

566 B.C.--.

Spring.

Autumn.

Summer.

A. D. 316.

A. D. 454.

A. D. 848-

A. D. 1642.

China. _

Korea.

• Japan..

Japan..

Japan.

ChinaJapan.

China..

Korea.

Japan..

Korea.

China..

China..

Korea.

Korea.

Korea.

China..

China. .

Korea.

Korea.

Korea.

China..

Andromedid.

11

12

33

34

35

1

36

1

2

10

12

1

6

12

2

2

37

38

2

2

2

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

TABU: 2.—Description* of meteor shower*

VOL.1

Shower

number

Record

Source

record in

table 3

Shower

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

More than 100 small stars flew

Stars fell like a shower

About ten stars flew

Stars fell like a shower

Stars fell like a shower

Many stars flew from the northeast to the southwest

Many stars flew west

Countless large and small meteors flew west

Small meteors flew in the southeast, and fell like a shower

Many small stars flew northwest

Many stars chased each other northwest

Seven stars with trails flew to Crater slowly

A great many meteors flew west

A great many meteors appeared

Countless meteors flew west till morning

Stars fell like a shower

Stars fell like a shower

About 200 meteors flew west

About 100 meteors flew west

Stars fell like a shower

Stars fell glittering like a shower till evening

Many stars chased each other

Many stars flew west

Many stars fell in the north

Stars fell like a shower in the northeast

Stars fought each other in the middle air

Stars fell like a shower

Stars fell like a shower

Some stars scattered like fire balls

Five or ten meteors fell

More than 100 meteors flew thither in the morning

Large meteors flew northwest crossing Ursa Major, countless small

stars flew till morning.

Countless large and small meteors flew from evening till morning.

About 100 large and small meteors flew all directions from evening

till morning.

About 20 meteors flew from evening till morning, crossing each

other; many of them appeared near the Milky Way.

Many small stars flew in all directions from evening till morning.

Many stars flew, crossing each other

Many stars flew at midnight. Small stars flew southwest

Many stars flew, crossing each other

Many stars flew, crossing each other

Some stars scattered (Kamo Shrine, Kydto)

For a few days, meteors flew toward the north. Many meteors

flew from evening till dawn.

Many stars flew

About 80 large and small meteors appeared

Stars fell like a shower at midnight

Many meteors appeared. Many of them flew southwest

Stars fell like a shower

Countless meteors flew to all directions at midnight

Some of them flew near the north pole, some of the rest crossed

Ursa Major.

Stars fell like a shower

ChinaKorea.

China.

China.

ChinaKorea.

China.

China.

ChinaChina.

China.

ChinaChina.

ChinaChina.

Korea.

ChinaChina.

China.

China.

ChinaJapan.

KoreaChina.

China.

Korea.

Korea.

Korea.

KoreaChina.

China.

China.

China.

China.

China.

ChinaChinaChinaChina.

China.

JapanJapan.

Korea.

ChinaJapan.

China.

f Korea.

[China.

Japan.

Japan.

1

2

1

3

4

2

5

1

1

7

7

1

6

1

1

2

8

1

1

9

1

10

2

1

11

2

2

2

12

1

1

1

1

1

1

7

7

7

7

13

13,14

2

1

15

6

2

1

16

17

A

A

A

Lyrid

Lyrid

Lyrid

Aquarid

Aquarid

Aquarid

Aquarid

Aquarid

Perseid

Perseid?

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid

Perseid
ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOB SHOWERS

TABLE 2.—Descriptions of meteor showers—Continued

139

Shower

number

Record

Source

record in

table 3

Shower

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

Hundreds of meteors flew southwest. The greatest of them flew

to Pegasus and lighted the earth brightly.

Hundreds of stars flew west

Large and small meteors flew in all directions

Many meteors flew in all directions like a shower

Meteor showers were seen in the northwest at Kianfu

Sometimes stars fell like a shower tonight

About 20 large and small stars flew north

Meteors were seen twice, and often after this

Stars fell like a shower

Stars fell like a shower

Many stars flew north

Stars fell like a shower

Meteor showers were seen in Heng-chow

Hundreds of meteors scattered in all directions

Many small meteors flew, crossing each other, and fell

About 100 small meteors appeared from evening till dawn

Hundreds of large and small meteors appeared

Meteors flew from the northeast to the southwest at midnight.

The date and time of appearance is the same as last year (A. D.

1465; cf. No. 79).

Meteor showers were seen in Ku-yuan-chow

Countless stars flew west

Meteors were seen, and often after this

Many stars flew, crossing each other. Many stars flew and fell

Stars flew like a shower in the southwest. Many stars flew crossing

each other.

Stars scattered from the northeast to the southwest all night

[Scores of small stars fell

\ Meteors flew from the northeast to the southwest at midnight

[ Meteors flew early in the morning

Meteors appeared in the morning

Meteors appeared at midnight

Meteors appeared in the morning

Countless large and small meteors appeared with white-red color

at midnight.

Meteors flew from the southwest to the northeast (cf. No. 67)

Stars flew like a shower

fStars flew like a shower all directions

I Many stars flew in the hemisphere and fell on land and sea

| Countless large and small meteors flew in all directions crossing

^ each other till dawn.

Meteors appeared in all directions

Meteors appeared at intervals

Likewise (meteors flew like a shower in all directions). (Cf. No.

53.)

Hundreds of large and small stars flew, crossing each other

Many stars fell in all directions

Many meteors appeared in the whole sky

Many stars fought in the west

About ten meteors appeared in midair

A great star fell. A small star followed

Meteors fell like the weaving [a shuttle?]

Many stars flew west

People who lived in Kwang Chow saw many stars fly north

China.

ChinaKorea.

Korea.

China.

ChinaChina.

Korea.

Japan.

ChinaKorea.

KoreaChina.

ChinaChina.

ChinaChina.

JapanChina.

KoreaKorea.

China.

China.

Japan.

China.

[Japan.

Japan.

JapanJapan .

Japan.

Japan.

KoreaKorea.

Japan.

China.

Korea.

Korea.

KoreaChina..

Korea..

-Korea.

China.

Japan.

KoreaChina.

18

1

2

2

19

1

1

12

20

5

2

2

21

22

7

1

1

23

1

2

12

7

24,7

13

1

13

25

25

26

27

23

12

12

27,28

1

12

12

2

1

2

12

2

12

29

30

2

1

Orionid

Orionid

Orionid

Orionid

Orionid

Orionid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

•Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

Leonid

D

D
140 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS

TABLE 2.—Descriptions of meteor showers—Continued

VOL.J

Shower

number

Record Country

Source

record in

table 3

Shower

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

Stars flew and fell

Stars fell like a shower and made the heavens red

Heaven stirred, stare fell like a shower

Meteors flew, and crossed each other from evening till dawn

f A great meteor flew from Pleiades to Andromeda and many small

\ stare followed it.

IA great star fell southwest

Stare fell like a shower

Stare fell like a shower in Soo-Chow

Stare fell like a shower in Pu-hsien

Since October meteors have appeared continuously

Stare fell like snow. At night, stare flew like snow

Stare flew like a shower

All stare moved in the morning

Stare fell in the northwest like a shower

In the evening, seven stare fell northeast

Star fell east at sunset. At midnight, heaven stirred, stars fell like

a shower.

Stare flew like a shower

Countless large and small meteors appeared

Stare fell like a shower

Stare fought each other in the southwest

Stare flew and scattered, trembling

Stare fell like a rainbow

Meteors appeared for a few days

Many stare trembled

Many stare fell like a shower, but did not reach the earth

Meteors fell like a shower at midnight

Stare fell like a shower

Thirty large stare flew west

Stare fell like a shower

Stare fell like a shower

Stare flew like the weaving [a shuttle?]

China.

China_

Japan.

Korea.

Korea.

ChinaChina.

ChinaKorea.

Japan.

Japan.

Japan.

ChinaJapan.

ChinaKorea.

Japan.

Korea.

China.

China.

Korea.

Korea.

Korea.

ChinaChina.

Korea.

Korea.

Korea.

China.

1

31

20

2

32

11

11

12

33

34

35

1

36

1

2

10

12

1

6

12

2

2

37

38

2

2

2

1

D

Andromedid
ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS 141

TABLE 3.—Sources of records

2 0 .

TABLE 3a.—

1. Tien-wen-chih (Chinese)

2. Munhdn-piko (Korean)

3. Ch'un-ch'iu (Chinese)

4. Han-shu Pfen-chi (Chinese)

5. Chin-shu Pto-chi (Chinese)

6. T'ien-hsiang Hou-chih Chu (Chinese)

7. Ssu-tien-k'ao (Chinese)

8. Min Chao-tai Tien-tse (Chinese)

9. Fukien T'ung-chih (Chinese)

10. Shoku Nihongi (Japanese)

11. Shanhsi T'ung-chih (Chinese)

12. Yollsong-sMok (Korean)

13. Nihon Kiryaku (Japanese)

14. HosshOji Sessho Ki (Japanese)

15. Meiji Kaei Nenkan Roku (Japanese)

16. Sandai Jitsuroku (Japanese)

17. Hayabiki Nenreki Tsuran (Japanese)

18. Sung-shih P6n-chi (Chinese)

19. Kianghsi T'ung-chih (Chinese)

Transliteration of record sources in table 3

20. Mizu Kagami (Japanese)

21. Hu-kuang T'ung-chih (Chinese)

22. Sui-shu Pen-chi (Chinese)

23. Gohokkoin Shdkaki (Japanese)

24. Liao-chih P6n-chi (Chinese)

25. Fuso Ryakki (Japanese)

26. Azuma Kagami (Japanese)

27. KOnendai Shiki (Japanese)

28. Taiseiki (Japanese)

29. T'ien-w6n K'ao-ku-lu (Chinese)

30. Shinzan Shu (Japanese)

31. Lu-an-fu-chih (Chinese)

32. Tse-chou-chih (Chinese)

33. Buk5 NenpyO (Japanese)

34. HOryaku Genrai Shu (Japanese)

35. Nihon Reiiki (Japanese)

36. Nihon Shoki (Japanese)

37. Chu-shu Chi-nien (Chinese)

38. Shih-chi (Chinese)
142 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS

TABLE 4.—Shower records by centuries

VOL.2

Years

Before A. D. 1

A. D. 1-299

A. D. 300-499.

A. D. 500-699

A. D. 700-899 „ . .

A. D. 900-1099

A. D. 110O-1299__. . .

A. D. 1300-1499

A. D. 1500-1699.__ .. .

A. D. 1700-1862

Total.

China

Number

5

3

9

3

11

17

0

4

14

0

66

Percent

8

5

14

5

17

26

0

6

21

0

102

Korea

Number

0

1

2

6

5

2

2

2

15

0

35

Percent

0

3

6

17

14

6

6

6

43

0

101

Japan

Number

1

0

0

3

4

6

2

2

2

3

23

Percent

4

0

0

13

16

26

9

9

9

13

99

Total

Number

6

4

11

12

20

25

4

8

31

3

124

Percent

5

3

9

10

17

20

3

6

25

2

100

TABLE 5-—Distribution of recorded meteor showers according to the sun's longitude

(1)

Sun's longitude

0°-59°

60-119

120-179

180-239

240-299

300-359

Total

(2)

Total

number of

showers

17

12

25

37

12

9

112

(3)

Number

identified

11

0

19

30

1

0

61

(4)

Number

unidentified

6

12

6

7

11

9

51

(5)

Number

recurrent

3

0

2

4

1

0

10

(6)

Total

recurrent

and un-*g

identified

9

12

8

11

12

9

61
ANCIENT NOVAE AND METEOR SHOWERS

TABLE 6.— Year and sun's longitude of recurrent meteor showers

143

Shower

Lyrid

Aquarid

Perseid

Orionid

Leonid

Andromedid

A

B (Lyncid?)

C

D

Number

of appearances

3

5

15

6

18

1

3

4

3

3

Dates of appearances

687 B. C. (31°), 15 B. C. (30°), A. D. 1136 (31°).

A. D. 401 (40°), A. D. 466 (40°), A. D. 905 (42°),

A. D. 927 (42°), A. D. 934 (42°).

A. D. 36 (138°), A. D. 714 (132°), A. D. 830

(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°).

A. D. 585 (201°), A. D. 930 (201°), A. D. 1436

(205°), A. D. 1439 (208°), A. D. 1465 (206°),

A. D. 1623 (211°).

A. D. 931 (220°), A. D. 934 (218°), A. D. 967

(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).

A. D. 1798 (256°-259°)

A. D. 36 (20°), A. D. 581 (21°), A. D. 1008 (24°).

A. D. 1037 (166°), A. D. 1063 (166°;, A. D. 1548

(166°), A. D. 1560 (166°).

A. D. 881 (186°), A. D. 1012 (187°), A. D. 1683

(186°).

A. D. 643 (239°), A. D. 970 (240°), A. D. 1395

(238°).

Orbital element

of recent shower

a

30°

45

142

28

233

242

(167)

i

80°

162

120

161

163

12

(123)

Parent

comet

1861 i

Halley?

1862 HI

Halley?

1866i

Biela

j
144 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ASTROPHYSICS

TABLE 7.—Meteor showers recorded twice

VOL.2

Shower

numbers,

from

table 1

Dates of appearance, with sun's longitude

Possible identification with

known showers

Name

19,20

21,22

47,48

69,70

104, 105

106, 107

108, 109

A. D. 466 (82°), A. D. 1539 (83°)

12 B. C. (86°), A. D. 735 (88°)

A. D. 532 (176°), A. D. 884 (174°-5°)

A. D. 1178 (215°), A. D. 1683 (2l4°-6°)_--

A. D. 685 (303°-5°), A. D. 764-5 (301°-7°).

A. D. 773 (311°), A. D. 1637 (314°)

A. D. 308 (324°), A. D. 483 (321°)

Pegasid.

Leo Minorid--

Bootid

88°

299

311

118°

67

71

References

FISHER, W. J.

1931. Popular Astron., vol. 39, p. 573; translation

from Klinkerfues, E. F. W., 1873, Gottinger Nachr., p. 275.

IBA, Y.

1934. Popular Astron., vol. 42, p. 243.

IMOTO, S., AND HASEGAWA, I.

1956. Kagaku-shi Kenkyu (Journ. Hist. Sci.),

No. 37, p. 7.

KANDA, S.

1935. Ancient astronomical records in Japan.

(In Japanese.)

1948. Kagaku (Science), vol. 18, p. 329.

SEKIGUCHI, R.

1917. Astron. Herald Japan Astron. Soc, vol. 10,

nos. 8 and 9.

YAMAMOTO, A. S.

1936. Publ. Kwasan Obs., vol. 1, no. 4.

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.