eclipses, meteorites and the development of...
TRANSCRIPT
ECLIPSES, METEORITES AND THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN ASTRONOMY
IN THAILAND
Wayne Orchiston
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand
NASE Workshop, Chiang Mai May 2019
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Definitions
• Thailand = Siam
• Modern astronomy: Jesuits
• Modern Astronomy = Western Astronomy
2 ‘KING NARAI THE GREAT’
2.1 Background
Ayuthaya Kingdom (1350-1767)
• Uthong Dynasty
• Suphannaphum Dynasty
• Sukhothai Dynasty
• Prasat Dynasty (Narai 4th King)
• Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty
2.2 King Narai (1633–11 July 1688)
King of Ayuthaya 1656-1688
2.3 Geo-Political Activities
Domination of Dutch & British
French counter (Louis XIV)
From 1662: French missionaries
1681: Fr Thomas = architect + engineer
+ astronomer
3 ANTOINE THOMAS: SIAM’S FIRST
WESTERN ASTRONOMER
Born Belgium (1644–1709); 1660 Jesuit, 1678 priest (no images)
Studied mathematics + astronomy
1678 eclipse (Coimbra, Portugal): research paper
Mid-1681 Japan via Siam ;~June 1682 China (astronomer)
3.1 Astronomical Observations
October & December 1681: Ayutthaya latitude & longitude
22 February 1682 total lunar eclipse
Observing site (house or church?); instruments?
4 THE FRENCH JESUIT MISSION TO SIAM
AND LUNAR AND SOLAR ECLIPSES January 1684 Thai ambassadors
France
Audience with Louis XIV
1685 French mission Lop Buri
Audience with King Narai
6 astronomers (Tachard)
1687 second French delegation
14 astronomers
4.1 The December 1685 Eclipse
11 Dec 1685: Lop Buri (Water
Reservoir Retreat)
• King Narai + 6 astronomers
led by Fr Tachard)
• Longitude
Telescopes? Clock Observations
“The King
expressed a
particular
satisfaction
seeing all the
Spots on the
Moon in the
telescope, and
especially
perceived that
the … Map that
was made at
the Paris
Observatory
agreed so well
with it. He put
Questions to us
during the
eclipse.”
Feature or
Event
Calculated
UT
Calculated
Local Time Tachard’s
Time
Immersion 20:31.4 3:20.0 3:20.0
Riccioli 20:32.4 3:21.7 3:20.8
Grimaldi 20:34.8 3:23.4 3:23.1
Kepler 20:43.4 3:32.0 3:30.5
Gassendi 20:46.6 3:35.2 3:33.6
Heraclides 20:49.0 3:37.6 3:37.7
Copernicus 20:52.0 3:40.6 3:40.0
Plato 21:00.0 3:48.6 3:50.1
Menelaus 21:11.5 4:00.1 3:59.8
Saint Denis 21:13.1 4:01.7 4:00.8
Plinius 21:15.4 4:04.0 4:03.2
P. Acutum 21:21.1 4:09.7 4:08.7
M. Crisium 21:29.7 4:18.3 4:18.8
Totality 21:36.5 4:25.1 4:23.7.
Table 1: The selenographical co-
ordinates of the lunar feat-ures
selected for observation during the 11
December 1685 lunar eclipse.
-2
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
The Consequence: Wat San Paulo (1686-1687)
Observatory + accommodation + seminary + church
Observatory design: cf. Paris Observatory
4.2.2 The 30 November 1686 Lunar Eclipse
Ayuthaya & Lop Buri (houses; not Wat San Paulo)
4.2.3 The 15 April 1688 Lunar Eclipse
Wat San Paulo Observatory (but building unfinished)
s
4.2. Later Eclipses and Astronomical
Observations (Lop Buri)
4.2.1 Overview
• Comets (1686)
• Jovian satellite phenomena (1686)
• Lunar eclipse (30 Nov 1686)
• Mars conjunctions (January-Feb 1687)
• Io occultations by Jupiter (11 & 27 March 1687)
• Lunar occultation of Jupiter (20 March 1687)
• Lunar eclipse (15 April 1688)
• Partial solar eclipse (30 April 1688)
4.2.4 The 30 April 1688 Partial Solar Eclipse
King Narai‟s Palace, Lop Buri
The probable observing site () at King Narai‟s Palace
N
N
1
2
3 4
5
6
N
4.3 Fate of the Jesuit Astronomers
• Rebellion May 1688; King Narai died 11 July 1688
• French forced to leave Siam
• Astronomers India & China
5 THE RE-EMERGENCE OF WESTERN
ASTRONOMY: THE ECLIPSES OF
1868, 1875 AND 1929
5.1 Eclipses
• 1868 (French)
• 1875 (British)
• 1929 (British & German)
Strong support of King
Rama IV and King Rama V
1868
5.2 The Emergence of Academic
Astronomy in Thailand
Chulalongkorn Uni (1930)
Professor Rawee Bhavilai
Solar physics
Chiang Mai University (1973)
Sirindhorn Observatory
(0.5-m reflector)
Assoc. Professor Boonrucksar
Soonthornthum
• Variable star photometry
• History of Astronomy
Lanna Astronomy
City walls of Chiang Mai
NARIT (2009)
Royal Family patronage (Rama IX; Princess Sirindhorn)
7 METEORITES
7.1 Definitions
• Finds/falls
~7240 meteorites >100g fall
over land areas of the
Earth each year, most never
recovered
• Types
Iron
Stony (CM)
Stony-iron
[ Tektites]
Explanations
Chladni (1791)
63-page book
7.2 Meteorite Origins
Most from Asteroid Belt (lunar & Martian meteorites rare)
Date from formation Solar System
Collisions > meteoroids > Earth-crossers
7.3 Thai Meteorites
Research by Wayne &
Lingling Orchiston
Literature survey
Research trips
Ban Choe Lae
Ban Rong Du
Chiang Khan
Nakhom Pathom
[Pitsanulok (2!)]
[Kanchanaburi]
Tektites (strewnfield)
SE Asian
Tektites
‘The Great Thai Meteorite Search’
Abundance: USA/European statistics
Only 7 documented Thai meteorites
Where are the missing Thai meteorites?
• Still in the ground (awaiting discovery)
• In private collections (‘strange stones’)
• In temple collections
Systematic national search project
(NARIT co-ordination)
Secondary schools science project
• Survey all temple collections
• Farm-to-farm survey in selected
agricultural areas
Start with pilot surveys near Chiang Mai
New meteorites:
• Thai National Heritage (legislation)
• Research potential
• MSc & PhD thesis projects
8. CONCLUDING REMARKS
King Narai: „founding father‟ Western astronomy
1681: 1st „Western‟ observations
1682–1688: „cutting edge‟ astronomy (eclipses)
Hiatus of ~200 yrs
2009: NARIT „cutting edge‟ astronomy once more
Thai meteorites: exciting opportunities
Now is a UNIQUE TIME for Thai Astronomy