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蘇州石刻星圖
中國的星體觀測歷史悠久。早在殷商時代已出現有關星宿的甲骨文記載，但建成於1247年的南宋蘇州石刻天文圖碑，卻具有獨特的考古意義。石碑上半部為一幅載有1,464顆恒星的全天星圖；它採用赤道座標系統來劃分星空，以北宋的天北極為中心，呈現當時開封府(北緯35°)可見的星空。(這種繪製星圖的方法要到16世紀才在歐洲出現。)星圖的最內圈代表拱極區，區內恒星長年可見，永不沒入地平；中圈(紅色)代表天赤道，另一個圈(黃色)代表黃道；最外圈劃出開封府可見最南星空的疆界。
The Suzhou Star Chart
Chinese astronomy has a long history. Records of star mansions(xiu)on oracle bones dated back to as early as the Shang Dynasty(1766-1122 BC). One of the most important archaeological artifacts is the Suzhou star chart which was engraved on stone in 1247 AD. The upper part of the stone is a star map which consisted of 1464 stars. The map employed an equatorial coordinate system with the north celestial pole as its centre and showed the sky as seen in Kaifeng(35°N). Such representation was unknown to Europe until the 16th century. The inner-most circle of the map encompassed the polar region where stars never set. The middle circle(red)represented the celestial equator and another(yellow), the ecliptic. The rim of the map marked the southern most boundary of the Kaifeng sky.
■甄枝強 資深天文愛好者
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