Researchers Claim Ancient Chinese Star Catalog Is the Oldest of Its Kind—But Not Everyone's Convinced
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' National Astronomical Observatories claim that Shi's Star Catalog, the oldest known star catalog in China, is actually the earliest known star catalog, period. They reached this conclusion using a technique that accounts for potential human errors made thousands of years ago. If their results prove to be true, it would mean that Shi's Star Catalog is centuries older than the other first place contender—the one created by Greek astronomer Hipparchus. But not everyone in the scientific community is convinced.
'In comparison to the observation epochs of other ancient star catalogs worldwide, the Shi's Star Catalog predates even the oldest Western star catalogs, affirming its status as the oldest star catalog in the world,' the researchers wrote in a study posted to the preprint server arXiv in April.
Because Earth's axis wobbles, the location of stars in the night sky changes over the centuries in a phenomenon called precession. Researchers can use Earth's precession to date ancient visual star catalogs by calculating the difference between historical records of the night sky and what our stars look like now.
Shi's Star Catalog, however, has been infamously difficult to date, not least because this one catalog depicts star positions that seem to span multiple centuries. In the preprint study, the researchers outline a number of previously suggested dates: around 360 BCE; around 360 BCE with an update around 200 CE; around 440 BCE with an update around 160 CE; sometime between 100 BCE and 70 BCE; and during the seventh century CE.
'A multitude of perspectives exist regarding the observational timeframe of the Shi's Star Catalog, with no definitive consensus reached,' the researchers admitted. As such, they decided to analyze the catalog's 120 stars with the Generalized Hough Transform method—an algorithmic imaging technique that 'statistically accommodates errors in ancient coordinates and discrepancies between ancient and modern stars, addressing limitations in prior methods,' they explained. This approach seems to confirm that Shi's Star Catalog was first drafted around 355 BCE and then updated around 125 CE.
'In comparison, the Western tradition's oldest known catalog, the Ptolemaic Star Catalog (2nd century CE), likely derives from the Hipparchus Star Catalog (2nd century BCE). Thus, Shi's Star Catalog is identified as the world's oldest known star catalog,' they added.
Some scientists, however, have a different theory: The instrument used to record Shi's Star Catalog was off by one degree. Previous studies adjusting for this assumption date Shi's Star Catalog around or after 103 BCE, as reported by Science. Certain historians look favorably on this later date because it aligns the catalog's use of spherical coordinates more closely with the Chinese invention of the armillary sphere (a spherical mathematical instrument used to track the movement of celestial bodies around Earth) and their adoption of a spherical cosmological model, both of which took place in the first century BCE, according to Science.
Suggesting that people used spherical coordinates hundreds of years before the invention of the armillary sphere, as the researchers do in the recent study, would be like finding 'a receipt from a gas station and somebody wants to say it's from 1700,' Daniel Patrick Morgan, a historian at France's Center for Research on East Asian Civilizations who was not involved with the study, told Science.
Future research may provide more answers. Whether or not the recent study proves to be true, it's worth noting that the Western world's Eurocentric approach has historically undervalued achievements made elsewhere, including those in ancient China. Plus, the ancient Babylonian seventh century BCE Astronomical Diaries blow both European and Asian astronomical artifacts out of the water, even though the tablets list astronomical observations via text, not visuals.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
Your body starts aging faster at this ‘inflection point' — it's earlier than you might think
Are you over the hill? A shocking new study has pinpointed the exact window when the human aging process begins to accelerate — and it happens well before you reach senior status. Researchers found the body breaks down unevenly, with one vital organ taking the hardest hit and possibly speeding up damage elsewhere. 3 Your body's organs aren't aging at the same rate — with one particularly susceptible to early decline. Vane Nunes – In the study, Chinese scientists analyzed 516 tissue samples from 76 organ donors between the ages of 14 and 68, all of whom died from accidental traumatic brain injury. The samples covered all of the body's major biological systems, including cardiovascular, digestive, immune, endocrine and skin. Using advanced analysis, the team found that the number of 48 proteins linked to disease became significantly more prominent as donor age increased. The proteins were tied to a host of conditions, from cardiovascular disease and tissue fibrosis to fatty liver and liver-related tumors. But not all organs aged equally. Protein-level changes in the adrenal gland — the hormone-producing powerhouse — began showing up as early as age 30. But the real shift happened between ages 45 and 55, when protein expression ramped up rapidly across several major organ systems. 3 The body likely hits an 'inflection point' where aging begins to accelerate around the age of 50. micromonkey – The most dramatic changes showed up in the aorta, the body's main artery responsible for sending oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. 'Temporal analysis revealed an aging inflection around age 50, with blood vessels being a tissue that ages early and is markedly susceptible to aging,' the study authors wrote. One protein in particular, known as GAS6, stood out. Its levels rose in the aorta as donors got older — and researchers think it may play a central role in triggering aging throughout the body. In experiments, the team injected young mice with GAS6. After, they found that the rodents developed clear signs of premature aging, including weak grip strength, poor balance and visible damage to their blood vessels. 3 Blood vessels may carry proteins that promote aging throughout the body, researcher suspect. AJ_stock_photos – 'Blood vessels seem to act as a conduit carrying molecules that promote aging throughout the body,' Guanghui Liu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences who lead the study, said in an interview with local news outlet The Chosun Daily. The findings reinforce the growing belief that aging doesn't happen on a straight timeline. However, further research is needed to declare 50 a biological breaking point, according to Maja Olecka, a scientist at the Leibniz Institute on Aging — Fritz Lipmann Institute in Germany, who was not involved in the study. 'There are these waves of age-related changes,' Olecka told Scientific American. 'But it is still difficult to make a general conclusion about the timing of the inflection points.' In the US, nearly 58 million Americans are 65 and older — and that number is projected to soar to nearly 89 million by 2060, according to the National Institute on Aging. While good health is key to independence and productivity later in life, a staggering 93% of older Americans have at least one chronic condition — and nearly 80% suffer from two or more. 'These insights may facilitate the development of targeted interventions for ageing and age-related diseases, paving the way to improve the health of older adults,' the study authors concluded.
Medscape
13 hours ago
- Medscape
More Sit-to-Stand Transitions Benefit Postmenopausal Women
TOPLINE: Reducing sedentary behavior with interventions such as increasing daily sit-to-stand transitions might help lower blood pressure in postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess how different strategies to reduce time spent sitting affected the physiologic responses of postmenopausal women who led sedentary lives. The researchers included 407 women in the postmenopausal phase (mean age, 68 years; 92% White) who had overweight or obesity (average BMI, 32), had a sitting time of at least 7 hours a day, and performed no more than 70 sit-to-stand transitions daily. The women were randomly assigned to one of three study arms: healthy living (n = 135), sit less (n = 136), and increased sit-to-stand transitions (n = 136). All arms received seven sessions of individual health coaching over 12 weeks. Researchers assessed blood pressure and markers of glucose regulation using fasting blood samples. Readings from thigh- and hip-worn accelerometers for 7 days were used to evaluate posture, sedentary behavior, and physical activity. Primary outcomes were measurements of glucose regulation and resting blood pressure at baseline and 3 months. TAKEAWAY: A total of 388 women completed the trial, with no serious adverse events related to the study. Participants in the sit-less arm had a daily sitting time of approximately 58 minutes less than those in the healthy-living arm (P < .001), whereas those in the sit-to-stand arm had 26 more sit-to-stand transitions daily (P < .001). Diastolic blood pressure fell by 2.24 mm Hg in the sit-to-stand arm compared with the healthy living arm (P = .02); the decrease in systolic blood pressure did not reach a predefined significance level. Compared with the healthy-living arm, neither intervention produced significant changes in markers of glucose regulation. IN PRACTICE: 'Postmenopausal women are at high risk of engaging in large amounts of sitting time and cardiovascular diseases. The present randomized controlled trial adds to existing evidence by demonstrating that within just 3 months, increasing' sit-to-stand transitions can lower diastolic blood pressure, the researchers wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Sheri J. Hartman, PhD, University of California, San Diego. It was published online on July 25, 2025, in Circulation. LIMITATIONS: The generalizability of findings was limited by the lack of ethnic and racial diversity. The 3-month intervention period may have been too brief to observe sizeable physiologic changes. Measurement of only fasting glucose parameters could not capture changes after meals. DISCLOSURES: This study received support from the National Institute of Aging. Additional support was provided by the Altman Clinical & Translational Research Institute at the University of California, San Diego, funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The authors did not report any conflicts of interest. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
Medscape
13 hours ago
- Medscape
Hydroxychloroquine Use May Be Beneficial in Lupus Nephritis
TOPLINE: Hydroxychloroquine exposure in patients with lupus nephritis was associated with a substantially lower risk for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline of ≥ 30%, particularly among those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage ≥ 3. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a retrospective study involving 209 patients with biopsy-proven incident lupus nephritis (mean age at diagnosis, 38 years; 75% women) between 1994 and 2019 identified at a single center in Wisconsin to examine the effect of hydroxychloroquine on kidney function. Hydroxychloroquine exposure status (median dose, > 5 vs ≤ 5 mg/kg/d) was determined at each visit using electronic health records, with positive exposure ascertained by an active prescription for at least 3 months at each follow-up. The primary outcome was eGFR decline of ≥ 30% at a minimum of two follow-up visits compared with baseline eGFR, or the requirement of sustained renal replacement therapy, with a mean follow-up duration of 5.4 years. The secondary outcome included an eGFR decline of ≥ 40%, and the annual eGFR slope to assess kidney function decline over time. TAKEAWAY: Time-varying exposure to hydroxychloroquine was associated with a 59% lower risk for an eGFR decline of ≥ 30% (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.41; P = .007). Similarly, hydroxychloroquine exposure was associated with a 66% lower risk for an eGFR decline of ≥ 40% (aHR, 0.34; P = .004). In patients with CKD stage ≥ 3 at lupus nephritis diagnosis, hydroxychloroquine exposure was associated with a 77% lower risk for an eGFR decline of ≥ 30% (aHR, 0.23; P = .03). Exposure to hydroxychloroquine led to significant annual reductions in eGFR slope declines of 5.12 mL/min/1.73 m2 within 5 years of a lupus nephritis diagnosis and 3.17 mL/min/1.73 m2 within 10 years. IN PRACTICE: 'These findings emphasize the importance of starting early and continuing HCQ [hydroxychloroquine] therapy to preserve kidney health alongside overall disease control even if SLE [systemic lupus erythematosus] is limited to the kidneys [lupus nephritis],' the authors of the study wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Shivani Garg, MD, PhD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin. It was published online on July 20, 2025, in Arthritis Care & Research. LIMITATIONS: The single academic institution setting potentially affected population representation. Data on hydroxychloroquine blood levels were unavailable to assess adherence and absorption variability. Decline of eGFR may have been missed in patients lost to follow-up or those who died at outside institutions. DISCLOSURES: This study received support from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and the Clinical and Translational Science Award program from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. One author reported receiving funding through the NIH and honoraria for presentation at a conference. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
