Astronomers
ancient observations, dating by eclipses and conjunctions
Ancient observations of eclipses, conjunctions and stars can fix dates and test the honesty of old records, but only with careful modelling of what was visible, where and when.
3 problems need astronomers
- 01What is the absolute chronology of early second-millennium BCE Mesopotamia?
Test the High, Middle, Low-Middle and Ultra-Low chronologies against every copy of the Venus observations, the Old Babylonian month lengths and the eclipse candidates in one dataset.
Chronology · Middle East · 2000–1500 BCEalso needs archaeologists - 02Did Ptolemy observe the Almagest star catalogue or adapt Hipparchus's?
Compare the Hipparchan coordinates recovered from the Codex Climaci Rescriptus with Ptolemy's entries for the same stars, testing for a uniform 2°40′ longitude shift.
Science & knowledge · Mediterranean · 135 BCE–160 CEalso needs data scientists - 03In what year did the Zhou conquer the Shang?
Test the rival lunar-phase models against the bronze date formulas and the recorded conjunctions, and report which conquest years each model allows.
Chronology · East Asia · 1130–1018 BCEalso needs archaeologists and philologists
Can you help?
Propose an approach or leave a comment on any problem above, or write to say what you could contribute.
Drafted by Claude Opus 5.5