Song astronomers refine star catalogues
1012
Court astronomers at the Song observatory in Kaifeng completed a revised star catalogue that recorded the positions of over a thousand stars with unprecedented accuracy. Using armillary spheres of bronze and calibrated water clocks, they tracked celestial motions for calendar reform, a perpetual task in a civilization where the emperor's legitimacy rested on commanding the heavens.
In context
Also in 1012 (3 other events on record)
- Martyrdom of Alphege · Europe · Religion
- Mahmud of Ghazni raids Thanesar · South Asia · War
- Ly Thai To constructs temples at Thang Long · Southeast Asia · Religion
Before and after in East Asia
Before and after in Science
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.