|Zhida holds on for dear life !|
|lookout over city to west|
At the beginning, the observatory enjoyed a great reputation for its splendid architectures, rare apparatus and abundant books. The 60-centimeter-caliber reflecting telescope, the 20-centimeter-caliber refracting telescope (both made in Germany) and the meridian transit made by Swiss were the most advanced equipment of the time. And they are still housed here. Now, it is well equipped with modern facilities used for doing experiments and observing the sun, the moon, the planets, the fixed stars and satellites.
What's more, many ancient astronomical apparatus made of bronze are also displayed here, including Armillary Sphere, Simplified Armillary Sphere and Gnomon of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Celestial Globe and Altazimuth of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Armillary Sphere, designed by Zhang Heng in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), was used to determine the position of the stars. It is not only an astronomical apparatus but also an exquisite craftwork. Its four poles were engraved with entwining dragons and the four sides of the base were cast with special flowers and animals. The one we can see today is a mimic of the Ming Dynasty. Simplified Armillary Sphere, as its name indicates, is the amelioration of Armillary Sphere. It is designed by astronomer Guo Shoujing in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The precision of determination and the convenience of operation were both improved. Gnomon, having a history of more than 3000 years, was used to measure the shadow of the sun and determine the solar terms and number of days of a year. China is the first country to know that there are 365.25 days in a year.
|Armillary Sphere replica|
|Ancient Chinese astronomical instrument replica|