Long-term fluctuations in the Earth’s rotation: 700 BC to AD 1990

1995/04/15 by F. R. Stephenson, L. V. Morrison · 8 citations
Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Aesthetics #Ancient history #Archaeology #Astrobiology #Astronomy #China #Earth's rotation #Geodesy #Geography #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #Historical Astronomy and Related Studies #Historical and Architectural Studies #History #Mathematics #Period (music) #Philosophy #Physics #Rotation (mathematics) #Term (time)

paper · doi:10.1098/rsta.1995.0028

openalex publication_date 1995/04/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11

Abstract

Abstract Records of solar and lunar eclipses in the period 700 BC to AD 1600, originating from the ancient and medieval civilizations of Babylon, China, Europe and the Arab world, are amassed and critically appraised for their usefulness in answering questions about the long-term variability of the Earth’s rate of rotation. Results from previous analyses of lunar occupations in the period AD 1600-1955.5, and from high-precision data in AD 1955.5-1990, are included in the dataset considered in this paper.

Citations

• Frequency of Cesium in Terms of Ephemeris Time
• Babylonian observational astronomy

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• Astronomical Dating of Babylonian Texts Describing the Total Solar Eclipse of S.E. 175
• Historical eclipses and Earth's rotation
• Critical remarks on the use of medieval eclipse records for the determination of long-term changes in the Earth's rotation
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