The Lost Star Catalogue of Hipparchus Under X-ray Vision
In briefAI summary — tap to read
Uwe Bergmann describes how X-ray fluorescence imaging at the Stanford synchrotron revealed hidden sections of the lost star catalogue of the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus in a palimpsest manuscript. The team discovered 12 new star coordinates and drawings of constellations from Hipparchus' work, which had been scraped off and written over by monks centuries ago, shedding light on the origins of Western astronomy.
Key takeaways
- X-ray fluorescence imaging uses characteristic X-ray light emitted by elements to create detailed elemental maps of objects, revealing hidden text and drawings invisible to the naked eye.
- The Codex Climaci Rescriptus palimpsest, a recycled parchment where monks washed and overwrote ancient texts with prayers, inadvertently preserved Hipparchus' star catalogue through calcium deposits left by milk used in the washing process.
- Twelve new star coordinates from Hipparchus were identified in the palimpsest, plus drawings of constellations including Corona Borealis, Delphinus, and Andromeda, resolving scholarly debate about whether his catalogue actually existed in this manuscript.
- Successful collaboration on cultural heritage projects requires deep expertise in one field combined with openness to interdisciplinary work, as demonstrated by the team spanning physics, history, museum curation, and data analysis.
- The most rewarding scientific work often comes from unexpected collaborations and keeping eyes open to opportunities outside one's immediate field, rather than remaining narrowly specialized.
About Uwe BergmannUwe Bergmann is the Martin L. Perl Professor in Ultrafast X-ray Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with expertise in synchrotron and X-ray laser techniques applied to materials, fossils, and cultural heritage objects.
AI-generated from the meeting recording — AI can make mistakes, so check the recording for anything important.
👋 New here? Wondering how our meetings work?
Is this your first time visiting us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! Each Monday, our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. Please also complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
Thanks for joining our weekly meeting!
Want to learn more about us? Who we are, what we do, why we do it.
Want to become a Rotarian? Join us in helping to make the world a better place!
Welcome to our meeting
Ninna Chugh, Member
Weekly Funny with Shags
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
Ancient astronomers attempted to measure the exact time between sunrises.
After 24 hours they gave up and called it a day.
Inspiration
There is a "Heroes in the Field" series that the Gates Foundation posts, and in this video, they highlight Dr Lina Finda as she talks about "the art and science of listening" while trying to get buy-in from all stakeholders on a new approach to combatting malaria in Africa. Good lessons for aspiring global grant proposers, here!
Learn something new
Inside the Nose of an Elephant | ScienceTake
"Elephants have a keen nose. They have more smell receptors than any mammal – including dogs – and can sniff out food that is several miles away."
📬 Are you receiving the Members-Only Weekly Bulletin?
Our club news and member links are now on the Members-Only ClubRunner site, and are emailed weekly as a club bulletin. Please make sure your email address is current on ClubRunner.
Program: The Lost Star Catalogue of Hipparchus Under X-ray Vision
Speaker: Uwe Bergmann
Every week we bring you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how they contribute to service to others.
Hipparchus of Nicaea (c. 190 – c. 120 BCE) is considered the greatest ancient astronomical observer. The lost Star Catalogue of Hipparchus is the earliest known attempt to record accurate coordinates of many celestial objects, observable with the naked eye. However, contrary to Ptolemy's later Star Catalogue, direct evidence for the contents of Hipparchus' Star Catalogue has been scarce.
Four years ago, members of our speaker's multidisciplinary team performed multispectral imaging of the ancient Greek palimpsest known as the Codex Climaci Rescriptus (CCR), revealing new evidence for Hipparchus' Star Catalogue. These recent breakthrough findings are exciting, but there are about 11 folios in the CCR, and significant sections had yet to be uncovered. In February the team employed X-ray fluorescence imaging at the Stanford synchrotron combined with advanced data analysis to generate high-resolution maps of the missing sections of the overwritten Hipparchus Star Catalogue. Uwe will describe the experiment and show some of the astonishing new findings leading to a better understanding of one of the most influential astronomers of antiquity.
Our speaker, Uwe Bergmann, got his PhD in Physics from Stony Brook University and is the Martin L. Perl Professor in Ultrafast X-ray Science in the Department of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research activities focus on the development and application of novel synchrotron and X-ray laser techniques. His scientific interests include studies of the structure of water and aqueous solution, active centers in metalloproteins with focus on photosynthetic splitting of water, hydrocarbons and fossil fuels, functional 2D materials and magnetic membranes, and imaging of ancient materials and fossils. Bergmann has done his graduate research at the National Synchrotron Light Source and since worked at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, the Linac Coherent Light Source, and at the Stanford PULSE Institute at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Members and guests, please welcome Uwe Bergmann!
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos.
Inspiring People — Stories of Innovation and Service
Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
Inspiring Women: Celebrating Trailblazers
Upcoming program recording schedule
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/.
