Before that.
Even a genius like Old Su, all he could see with the naked eye were the moon and the sun as round celestial bodies.
After all, what was special about him was his mind, not so physical mutation.
But now with Xu Yun's example of the sailing ship, Old Su suddenly realized...
The truth was once so close to him!
At the sa ti.
Perhaps inspired by Xu Yun's words.
A mory fragnt ca to Old Su's mind:
More than a decade ago, he had visited Phoenix City in Ancient Feng Prefecture, the capital of the most beloved ingredients of future Guangdong Province.
On one of the nights during his stay, he relaxed in a courtyard, as usual, looking up at the starry sky.
Before long.
By habit and experience, he identified that ancient, unmoving Ziwei Star in the north.
But as he kept watching.
Old Su suddenly felt a strange sensation in his heart:
The Ziwei Star he saw in Phoenix City seed to be a bit lower in height compared to what he saw in Bianjing...
But at that ti, Old Su didn't think too much of it:
He just thought he was fatigued from the journey, and his judgnt was sowhat off, so he went back inside to sleep.
After all, the decrease in distance wasn't very apparent, it was faint and almost negligible.
If he hadn't been used to stargazing, he probably wouldn't have even felt that strangeness.
But now, if it's as Xu Yun explained, that the entire land is round...
Then the issue of height can be explained:
Because the Earth is round, with the Ziwei Star at the extre north.
The further north you go, the higher the Ziwei Star appears, and the further south you go, the Ziwei Star would...
Be lower!
That's right.
Seeing this,
many students might have guessed the identity of the Ziwei Star.
It is the future Polaris, Gouchen One!
But what Old Su didn't know was.
The so-called eternal Arctic Star he saw was not a fixed star, just a fixed title.
Just like the Emperor's throne, different people can take turns to sit on it, today's you, tomorrow's him, laughing heartily under the Chongzhen tree.
The Polaris, so romantically cherished by Huaxia, is known internationally as Ursa Minor Alpha.
In reality, it is about 30 arcminutes from the North Celestial Pole, roughly the distance of one moon.
As we all know.
Due to precession, the Earth's rotational axis constantly changes its direction in the celestial sphere.
Therefore, after so ti, there will always be a star in that position.
For example, anyone who has survived from 12,000 BC to now would know,
that the Polaris then wasn't Gouchen One, but Vega.
The Polaris of 3000 BC was Alpha Draconis, also known as Right Pivot.
It is a dim fourth-magnitude star, very inconspicuous in the sky—as a comparison, Gouchen One is a second-magnitude star, while Vega is zero-magnitude.
By 4000 AD, Polaris will beco Gamma Cephei.
Theoretically, only three long-distance runners on Earth today might live to see that ti.
By the way.
The South Pole in the celestial sphere also changes.
For instance, currently, there are no bright stars near our South Pole.
But by 8000 AD, a bright Southern Star will appear—Carina Iota, or Hai Shi Er, this one too is a second-magnitude star.
By 9000 AD, the Southern Star will be an even brighter Vela Delta, or Tianshe Three.
But Old Su did not know this mystery at the ti, he only had another question in his heart.
"Xiaowang, although the example you give seems to explain the round Earth theory, it... is still not as convincing as seeing it with one's own eyes..."
He stared intently at Xu Yun, clenching his fists tightly:
"So... do you have a way... for us to see the stars with our own eyes?"
Xu Yun glanced at him and nodded:
"Yes."
Thud—
Old Su's heart gave a heavy throb, his eyes opened wide, instinctively blurting out:
"What way?"
"Astronomical Telescope."
"Astronomical Telescope? How is it to be made?"
Upon hearing Old Su's question, Xu Yun spread his hands innocently towards him:
"I do not know."
"You don't know?"
Old Su's voice suddenly rose a few notches, with an expression of intense confusion:
"How could you not know?"
Xu Yun, hearing this, gave Old Su a puzzled look and innocently spread his hands:
"Master, you don't think I'm omniscient, do you?"
Old Su was stunned.
Seeing his words seed to have so effect, Xu Yun continued:
"Master, I have only read about such tools in the books of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow sect, though the principles I can barely recall.
But to make an astronomical telescope capable of seeing the stars, as well as the previously ntioned Microscope, there's a problem that must be solved first."
"What problem?"
Xu Yun's eyes flashed with a mysterious gleam, saying:
"Mathematical calculations."
......
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