Observations of comet C/1652 Y1 recorded in Korean histories

Abstract

We report the Korean records for comet C/1652 Y1, which have not been introduced in previous studies on historical comets. According to Korean historical documents, this comet, described as bai xing (white star, in literal) or ke xing (guest star, in literal), was observed with the naked eye for 22 days from December 19, 1652 to January 9, 1653. In this study, we first cross-checked the records of comet C/1652 Y1 among Korean documents and presented the translations in the Appendix for future reference. We then compared the Korean observations with the orbital path determined from calculations using the orbital elements provided by Marsden (1983. Catalog of cometary orbit. Hillside: Enslow Publishers). We also compared the illustrations depicted by Weigelius and Schiltero (1653. Commentatio astronomica de cometa novo qui sub finem anni 1652 lumine sub obscuro nobis illuxit. Jenae: Typis Georgii Sengenvvaldi) and by Hevelius (1668. Cometographia, Totam Naturam Cometarum; Exhibens. Gedani: Typis Auctoris, & Sumptibus, Simon Reiniger). Cf) Marsden (1983. Catalog of cometary orbit. Hillside: Enslow Publishers). orbit. Hillside: Enslow Publishers). We found that the Korean observations show discrepancies with the orbital path calculated by Marsden and the illustration of Weigelius and Schiltero, particularly near the end of the observation period. In conclusion, we believe that this study will contribute to improving the orbital path calculation of comet C/1652 Y1.

Keywords

• history and philosophy of astronomy
• data analysis
• comet (c/1652 y1)