On a summer night, the sky is full of stars, a stargazing platform is built on the outskirts of Xiyang City, a little fire on the ground reflects the high platform, and in a semicircular building on the top of the platform, there are several people who are observing the sky with astronomical mirrors. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

This mirror is made by the Huangzhou Governor, Gongyu Wenming craftsman of the State of Yi, one zhang and two feet long, the mirror diameter is one foot and two inches, it is erected on the iron frame, and there is a semi-circular wooden roof that can be opened and closed, and rotates to shelter from the wind and rain.

There is also a small mirror on the body of the astronomical mirror, called the "star finder", and a man puts his face to the bottom of the astronomical mirror and observes the stars with his eyes through this treasure.

Only one person can watch at a time, and the others gather in a circle, waiting to observe the stars in turn, and in order to avoid affecting the observation effect, only a dim oil lamp is lit in this room.

The next room was brightly lit, the curtains had been lowered to block the light, and several people sat around the desk and discussed in a low voice, and there were many white pieces of paper with graphics on the desk.

"The nebula on this map is spiral-shaped, with three spiral arms..."

Liu Zhuo introduced his observations, and saw that others listened to them with relish, and couldn't help but feel complacent.

During the day, he taught in the state school, studied in the school in his spare time, and went to the stargazing platform to observe the stars at night.

Huangzhou Prefecture has a library with a huge collection of books, some of which have never seen ancient book fragments, the first year is almost a personal astronomical mirror, and the books he has proofread and various ancient book annotations are constantly published, Liu Zhuo is like a fish in water in Xiyang.

The books published in Huangzhou were sold all over the world, and the name of Liu Zhuo, the capital of letters, also spread all over the world, and Liu Zhuo, one of the "two Lius", became more famous than a few years ago.

His family settled in Xiyang, with hundreds of acres of fertile land, two mansions, a number of servants, no shortage of households, and a generous salary for teaching in the state.

Every ten years, there is still an allocation from the Duke of Yiguo, Liu Zhuo no longer worries about his livelihood, he doesn't dare to say that his family has a lot of money now, but his life is delicious, there is no shortage of money, and the rest is to leave a name in history.

He had to write a book, he had to compile an accurate calendar, and thanks to an unprecedented astronomical mirror, he had to draw a detailed map of the stars.

The moon full of potholes, Saturn with its rings, and the misty nebulae, the stars that never appeared in the classics, will be compiled into a catalogue by him.

There was a lot of work to do these things, and Liu Zhuo couldn't do it alone, so he thought of his relatives and friends, and now the few people in front of him, as well as the few people next door who were stargazing, were all scholars who came to Xiyang as guests at his invitation.

To observe the starry sky, you must rely on a magical astronomical mirror, and Xiyang City has the only two astronomical mirrors in the world, the astronomical mirror of Yecheng Qin Tianjian, although it is also dedicated by Gongyu Wenwen of the Kingdom of Yi, but ordinary people have no chance to use it at all.

Therefore, the astronomical mirror in Xiyang is the only hope of aspiring astronomical scholars, and as soon as they receive Liu Zhuo's letter, they will rush to Xiyang as much as possible.

Since ancient times, people have linked the celestial phenomena with the fate of the dynasty, and even solar and lunar eclipses can lead the emperor to lead the ministers to worship the sky, or issue an edict for themselves, so the astrological theory has always been controlled by the imperial court.

After the Yongjia Rebellion, the Central Plains has been in constant turmoil for hundreds of years, and the dynasties have changed frequently, and the control of astronomy and astrological theories is not so strict, and the environment for folk scholars to learn astronomy, astrology, and calendars is quite relaxed, so a lot of astronomical knowledge has gradually spread.

Even so, this stargazing platform in Huangzhou was built by Yu Wenwen, the governor of Huangzhou, and only started construction after obtaining the emperor's imperial approval, and the so-called "construction" was naturally allowed by the emperor.

There are also officials stationed in the imperial court to manage, to prevent people with ill intentions from taking the opportunity to spy on the celestial phenomena, all those who study and study in the stargazing platform must have a certificate issued by the government to prove their innocence.

Therefore, within the borders of the Great Zhou Dynasty, in addition to Jingshi Yecheng, only Xiyang City in Huangzhou can openly study astronomy and astrology in a bright and bright way, and this stargazing platform on the outskirts of the city has become a place where scholars from all over the world gather.

Among them are not only astronomical scholars, some were invited by Liu Zhuozhi to teach at Huangzhou State Studies, and some came here because they learned that the Huangzhou State Studies Library was rich in books.

And those astronomers come to Xiyang not only to see the astronomical mirror, but also because the stargazing platform here has a large armillary sphere and armillary image, as well as a tall watch, as well as a sophisticated "Xiyang clock", which is rare to see elsewhere.

"Xiyang Clock", as a peculiar timekeeping tool, has gradually become known to the world, Huangzhou Governor Yu Wenwen every year into the imperial court of Xiyang Bell, has been displayed many times in Yecheng.

Compared with the hourglass and leakage carving, the driving force of this Xiyang clock is "pendulum", which does not need to be driven by hydraulic power, and it is very convenient to use, although the failure rate is higher, but it is very accurate to go, which is really amazing.

For ordinary people, surprise is also surprise, no matter how accurate the time, it is useless for most people, but for astronomers, it is a sharp weapon, because if you want to compile an accurate calendar, you need to know the precise time.

In order to observe the shadow of the sun, in order to record the trajectory of the sun during the different solar terms of the year, it is necessary to make sure that the observation time is all at the same time, which requires accurate time.

At the same time, to observe the orbit of the sun and the moon, an armillary sphere is required, and to observe the celestial phenomena and stars, both of which are very complex and difficult to make, and the stargazing platform in Xiyang has them.

Not only that, but the watch used by the Xiyang Observatory for measuring the sun's shadow is also much taller than other places, which provides a strong guarantee for accurate measurement of the sun's shadow.

The so-called Gui table is composed of two parts, one is a benchmark or stone pillar that stands on the flat ground, and after the Han Dynasty, it was made of copper, which is called a table.

One is a ruler that is placed flat on the ground in the north-south direction, which is made of jade or stone, and after the Han Dynasty, it was also changed to copper, which is called gui.

The length of the shadow is measured at noon, and the 24 solar terms can be deduced, and the number of days of a return year can be determined from the periodic changes in the length of the shadow at noon.

The general height of the ancient representative was eight feet, and it was once changed to ten feet in the Han Dynasty, and when it came to the Liang of the Southern Dynasty, there was a nine-foot high watch used to measure the shadow, and today's Xiyang Stargazing Platform uses a high platform to make a watch, and the height has reached forty feet.

At the same time, the Gui is also more than 70 feet long, with this huge Gui watch, it will be more accurate to measure the shadow of the sun, coupled with the magic astronomical mirror, the attraction of the Xiyang Stargazing Observatory to astronomers is infinite.

With such a sharp weapon in hand, measuring the sky is no longer an illusion.

"Fang Cai Xiaochong asked, but Yang Sima has to answer the question, the structure of Xiyang Bell is complex, it is Yang Sima's masterpiece."

Liu Zhuo turned the problem of Xiyang Bell to Yang Ji who was present, he had already figured out the principle of the clock, but if he wanted to explain it in detail, he still had to do it.

"Mr. Fang just asked, and he couldn't tell clearly in his eagerness." Yang Ji talked eloquently, as Yu Wenwen's "body worker", he is also very busy, "First of all, you must know what 'escapement' is." ”

He took out a special model of the escapement and explained to those present what an "escapement" is, which is the core device of the clock and is related to whether the clock can function properly.

Everyone looked at the model and listened to Yang Ji's explanation, the door was gently pushed open, and a boy about seven or eight years old tiptoed in, sitting aside and quietly looking at the escapement in Yang Ji's hand.

"Capture, indulgence, so it is, no wonder Xiyang Clock can run accurately."

"Not only that, but the armillary sphere and armillary image of the observatory also use the method of capture and indulgence when operating, which is all Yang Sima's whimsical conception."

When Liu Zhuo said this, he saw that the attendant at the door made a gesture, clapped his hands and whispered, "Everyone, it's time to go see the astronomical mirror." ”

When everyone heard this, their faces showed eagerness, and they got up and walked to the next door in turn, and Fang Yanqian, who had just asked a question, walked up to the child and asked, "Have you seen it just now?" ”

"I've seen it!"

The boy nodded and said excitedly, "Aya, the nebula is really spiraling!" ”

"There are not only spirals, but also various other shapes, which will need to be carefully observed in the future." Yang Ji stepped aside and said to the father and son with a smile, "Mr. Fang, Ling Lang has been well-read since he was young, and he is really good at teaching. ”

Someone praised his son, Fang Yanqian was naturally happy in his heart, of course, the modesty on his face still needed, Liu Zhuo stepped forward and asked the boy interestingly: "Xiaolang, can you get used to living in Xiyang?" ”

The boy looked at his father first, and when he saw him nodding, he saluted Liu Zhuo: "I'm used to living, Ah Qiao and my father are bothering Mr." (To be continued.) )