Scientists uncovered what they believe to be the first astronomical map. The discovery, outlined in recent studies published in the Journal for the History of Astronomy and the Classical Quarterly, was made in part thanks to multispectral imaging conducted by researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology's Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science.

More than 2,100 years ago, the Greek astronomer Hipparchus attempted to outline the exact locations of stars when he created his Star Catalogue. But parchment was valuable and hard to come by, so eventually Hipparchus' original writing was scraped away and the parchment was reused for another document, a process known as creating a palimpsest. Today, scientists can use multispectral imaging-collecting images in many wavelengths of light-to reveal erased text on palimpsests that is otherwise invisible to the human eye.

RIT Professor Roger Easton is an expert in multispectral imaging who has used the technique to help make discoveries related to ancient Jewish texts like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known copies of text by Archimedes, and the 15th-century Martellus Map that may have influenced Christopher Columbus. Easton and a team of RIT students were asked to image an ancient Greek palimpsest known as the Codex Climaci Rescriptus in 2016 at the Museum of the Bible in Oklahoma City. Later when processing the images they collected, he was startled to find the imaging revealed detailed drawings.

"That was a total surprise to me," said Easton. "That was the first example of a graphic that we'd seen in this book, and that got the scholars I was working with excited, too."

The images were eventually pieced together to reconstruct Hipparchus' Star Catalogue and unveil a major missing link in the history of astronomy.

Easton said this is the latest example of multispectral imaging's growing role in the field of historical preservation. He said that the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science now supports locations across the United States and Europe in their multispectral imaging efforts. He's especially encouraged by RIT's efforts to democratize the process by developing inexpensive imaging systems that can be leveraged by small museums, libraries, and collections.

"It's incredible what you can do with this technology, and it's relatively straightforward and simple," said Easton. "We want people to easily collect data and use it themselves."

Research Report:New evidence for Hipparchus' Star Catalogue revealed by multispectral imaging

Related Links
Rochester Institute of Technology
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Northrop Grumman space navigation systems achieve galactic threshold
Falls Church VA (SPX) Dec 22, 2022
When considering that a full calendar year has 8,760 hours and a commercial airliner can be in service for about 30 years (or around 165,000 flying hours), then achieving a continuous performance milestone of 65 million hours is truly out of this world - exactly where Northrop Grumman navigation technology has been operating for decades. In 2022, Northrop Grumman's hemispherical resonator gyros (HRGs), sensors known for their unmatched reliability on commercial, government and civil space missions ... read more