雙語科技百科(天文) 第14期:渾象
The Celestial Globe
The celestial globe was an instrument for demonstrating astronomic phe-nomena in ancient China. The ancient Chinese people learned to make this instrument a long time ago，and used it to pinpoint the position of the sun，the moon，and the stars with respect to each other and to know their movement. The celestial globe is seen as the ancestor of the modern celestial globe.
天體儀，古稱“渾象”，是中國古代一種用於演示天象的儀器。中國古人很早就會製造這種儀器，它可以用來直觀、形象地瞭解日、月、星辰的相互位置和運動規律，可以說天體儀是現代天球儀的直接祖先。The one placed in the Ancient Beijing Observatory, with a weight of 3 ,850 kilo-grams，is the oldest celestial globe extant in China and was made during the reign(1661一1722 ) of Emperor Kangxi during the Qing Dynasty.
北京古觀象臺上安置的天體儀，是中國現存最早的天體儀，制於清康熙年間(1661一1722)，重3850千克。
The main component of the celestial globe is a hollow bronze globe，with crisscross grids on the spherical surface，which are used to delineate the exact po-sition of celestial bodies. A number of stars are marked on the sphere，represen-ting their positions with respect to each other in the sky.
天體儀的主要組成部分是一個空心銅球，球面上刻有縱橫交錯的網格，用於量度天體的具體位置;球面上凸出的小圓點代表天上的亮星，它們嚴格地按照亮星之間的相互位置標刻。The sphere is mounted by its poles(corresponding to the celestial poles) on a metal axis，and can rotate around it. It takes a night to finish a circle. The globe is placed in a standing hoop，which is beset into a horizontally placed hoop，suppor-ted by four pillars decorated with dragonhead patterns.
整個銅球可以繞一根金屬軸轉動，轉動一週代表一個晝夜。球面與金屬軸相交於兩點:北天極和南天極。兩個極點的指尖，固定在一個正立着的大圓環上，大圓環嵌人水平大圈內，下面四根雕有龍頭的立柱支撐着水平大圈，託着整個天體儀。With the celestial globe，people can figure out the star atlas even during day-time or on a cloudy night.
利用渾象，無論是白天還是陰天的夜晚，人們都可以隨時瞭解當時應該出現在天空的星空圖案。
