The History of Song's Treatise on Astronomy records "In the first year of Jiayou, at night there was red vapor spanning the sky, like a bolt of silk." Modern scholars have confirmed this as a low-latitude aurora caused by a strong geomagnetic storm. The official histories also contain many records of "night brightness," "rain of blood," and "stars falling by day," providing reference for space weather history research.
Account
The History of Song's Treatise on Astronomy records: "In the first year of Jiayou, at night there was red vapor spanning the sky, like a bolt of silk." Modern scholars have confirmed this as a low-latitude aurora caused by a strong geomagnetic storm. The official histories also contain many records of "night brightness," "rain of blood," and "stars falling by day," providing reference for space weather history research.
Sources
- History of Song, "Treatise on Astronomy"
- successive dynasties' Treatises on the Five Phases
- modern geomagnetic storm historical reconstruction