KASHIHARA, Nara Pref. -- A planisphere carved into a stone chamber inside a 1,300-year-old tumulus in the village of Asuka shows such important constellations as Ursa Major, Orion and Scorpio, an expert has found.
Kazuhiko Miyajima, an associate professor of Japanese astronomical history at Doshisha University in Kyoto, analyzed the video image of a celestial sphere and stars chiseled into the ceiling of the stone chamber of the Kitora tumulus.
Miyajima said the planisphere is accurate and includes the equator and ecliptic. It is the oldest planisphere in East Asia with such features, he said.
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