In spite of arguments about the astronomical interpretation of ancient eclipse records, one thing is certain — the more that can be found, the more useful they will be.

AN astronomical event recorded on a clay tablet found in 1948 among the ruins of the ancient city of Ugarit, in what is now Syria, was identified 20 years ago as a description of a total solar eclipse that occurred on 3 May 1375 BC1,2. The dating of ancient solar eclipses provides reference points to fix the long-term evolution of angular momentum in the Earth-Moon system3. We have reanalysed the Ugarit eclipse record4. A new historical dating of the tablet, and mention in the text of the visibility of the planet Mars during the eclipse as well as the month in which it occurred enables us to show that the recorded eclipse in fact occurred on 5 March 1223 BC. This new date implies that the secular deceleration of the Earth's rotation has changed very little during the past 3,000 years.

Uses for ancient eclipse records

The earliest known solar eclipse record redated

The creation at the Institute for Cosmophysical Research and Aeronomy of an instrument system for the synchronous recording of variations in the neutron flux, the electric field strength and the electromagnetic radiation during lightning discharges is reported. Preliminary results from measurements of neutron intensity using CHM-15 lead-sheathed and uncovered counters with 10-μs resolution are obtained during short-range lightning events in the vicinity of Yakutsk.

Recording neutrons with 10-μs resolution during a thunderstorm in Yakutsk

The paper presents the results of a study of the increase in the gamma background in the surface layer of the atmosphere during near thunderstorms in Yakutsk (based on the Cosmic Ray Spectrograph of the IKFIA SB RAS). To register the gamma background, scintillation detectors based on NaI (Tl) crystals with a size of 63mm x 63mm are used. The range of measured energies is 20-1900 keV. The detectors are closed from the sides and bottom with lead (5 cm) and placed in thermoboxes with a glass window. The detector is located on the roof of the Cosmic Ray Spectrograph building in Yakutsk. Also, synchronous registration of the atmospheric electric field strength was carried out using an atmosphere electric field – mill sensor (with measurement range +/- 50 kV / m).The data of continuous recording of an analog signal from a detector during the nearest thunderstorms of 2018 were considered. The analog signal from the gamma detector was fed to the first channel of the E20-10 ADC (L-Card) and recorded continuously on the computer hard disk for one hour (during a thunderstorm) in series of 10 minutes. A signal from an active broadband dipole P-10 antenna (0.9 kHz - 900 MHz bandwidth) was fed to the second channel and was also recorded in one file together with the signal from the gamma detector. Synchronous recording of signals from the gamma detector and from the antenna allows accurate timing of gamma photons to electromagnetic signals from nearby lightning. In the studied thunderstorms, based on the results of the analysis of the data obtained, statistically significant variations in the count rate and shapes of the spectrum of gamma – ray at the moment of lightning discharges were found.

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Variations of gamma-ray during thunderstorm by observations in Yakutsk

Natural, physical, or material world and its phenomena

Uses for ancient eclipse records

Citations

The earliest known solar eclipse record redated

Recording neutrons with 10-μs resolution during a thunderstorm in Yakutsk

Variations of gamma-ray during thunderstorm by observations in Yakutsk

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