{"title":"新月间隔 NA 和巴比伦月的开始","authors":"John Steele","doi":"10.1007/s00407-023-00325-x","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study examines Babylonian records of the new moon interval NA (sunset to moonset on the day of first lunar visibility) and the connection of this interval to the length of the moon. I show that the NA intervals in the Normal Star Almanacs were computed using the goal-year method and were then used in turn to predict the lengths of each month of the year. I further argue that these predicted month lengths, adjusted occasionally on the basis of observation in cases where the moon’s visibility was considered marginal, formed the basis of the Late Babylonian calendar.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50982,"journal":{"name":"Archive for History of Exact Sciences","volume":"78 3","pages":"245 - 270"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"The new moon interval NA and the beginning of the Babylonian month\",\"authors\":\"John Steele\",\"doi\":\"10.1007/s00407-023-00325-x\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><p>This study examines Babylonian records of the new moon interval NA (sunset to moonset on the day of first lunar visibility) and the connection of this interval to the length of the moon. I show that the NA intervals in the Normal Star Almanacs were computed using the goal-year method and were then used in turn to predict the lengths of each month of the year. I further argue that these predicted month lengths, adjusted occasionally on the basis of observation in cases where the moon’s visibility was considered marginal, formed the basis of the Late Babylonian calendar.</p></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":50982,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Archive for History of Exact Sciences\",\"volume\":\"78 3\",\"pages\":\"245 - 270\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.7000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-01-28\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Archive for History of Exact Sciences\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"98\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00407-023-00325-x\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"哲学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archive for History of Exact Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00407-023-00325-x","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
The new moon interval NA and the beginning of the Babylonian month
This study examines Babylonian records of the new moon interval NA (sunset to moonset on the day of first lunar visibility) and the connection of this interval to the length of the moon. I show that the NA intervals in the Normal Star Almanacs were computed using the goal-year method and were then used in turn to predict the lengths of each month of the year. I further argue that these predicted month lengths, adjusted occasionally on the basis of observation in cases where the moon’s visibility was considered marginal, formed the basis of the Late Babylonian calendar.
期刊介绍:
The Archive for History of Exact Sciences casts light upon the conceptual groundwork of the sciences by analyzing the historical course of rigorous quantitative thought and the precise theory of nature in the fields of mathematics, physics, technical chemistry, computer science, astronomy, and the biological sciences, embracing as well their connections to experiment. This journal nourishes historical research meeting the standards of the mathematical sciences. Its aim is to give rapid and full publication to writings of exceptional depth, scope, and permanence.