March 30, 2003
On your birthday, the Earth completed another orbit — 584 million miles traveled since your last celebration.
Beijing Ancient Observatory
Birthday · March 30, 2003
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APOD published March 30, 2003. Credit: Judy Tobin. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Did observatories exist before telescopes? One example that still stands today is the Beijing Ancient Observatory in China. Starting in the 1400s astronomers erected large instruments here to enable them to measure star and planet positions with increasing accuracy. Pre-telescopic observatories throughout the world date back to before recorded history, providing measurements that helped to determine when to plant crops, how to navigate ships, and when religious ceremonies should occur. It is interesting to compare the above picture to one taken in 1895.
Image credit: Judy Tobin