《西洋新法历书》星表之源流

Researches in the Origin and Spread of the Star Catalogue in Xi Yang Xin Fa Li Shu

本文根据对《西洋新法历书》星表来源及流传情况的分析,认为该星表的星官安排依照中国古代"步天歌"系统,恒星赤道坐标是从其黄道坐标推算得到,使用的黄赤交角值是第谷的(比实际值大);《西洋新法历书》星表和星图中的恒星数据主要来自第谷的扩大星表,同时以托勒密星表和科泽尔观测的南天星为补充,另有少部分似出自实测;《新制灵台仪象志》星表出自《西洋新法历书》星表,其中多出的500余颗小星相应数据出自徐光启、汤若望等人观测,并且《新制灵台仪象志》采用了比《西洋新法历书》相对精确的黄赤交角值。

In the star catalogue of Xi Yang Xin Fa Li Shu(Treatise on Astronomy and Calendrical Science according to the New Western Methods,Xi for short),the equatorial-coordinates of the stars were derived from their ecliptic-coordinates,and the obliquity of the ecliptic was quoted from Tycho's Astronomiae Instauratae Progymnasmata.With little distinctness,the arrangement of constellations in Xi was based at the Butiange,which is one of the traditional Chinese star catalogues.The data of the most stars in Xi was originated from Tycho's expansile catalogue,Ptolemy's catalogue,and Keyser's observation on the southern stars.Some were originated from XU Guang-qi's observations.The star catalogue in Fedinand Verbiest's Xin Zhi Ling-tai Yi Xiang Zhi(A Record of New-Built Astronomical Instruments at the Observatory of Peking) was expanded from the one in Xi.And the more than 500 dark stars in Xin Zhi Ling-tai Yi Xiang Zhi were derived from the observation of XU Guang-qi and Adam Schall von Bell.Fedinand Verbiest introduced the more accurate obliquity of the ecliptic 23°29′30″ than the one 23°31′30″ in Xi.