X-ray revealed ancient star catalog

In a study conducted at the SLAC X-ray synchrotron in the USA, scientists were able to recover hidden text from the ancient palimpsest Codex Climaci Rescriptus, dedicated to Hipparchus's star catalog mentioned around 150 BCE. X-rays revealed traces of iron-rich ink on the surface of the palimpsest, while the original ancient Greek text retained traces of calcium. Using this data, researchers were able to decode the ancient material.

According to project leader Victor Gizemborovich (CNRS), "This is not plagiarism, this is science"; he noted that modern work combines different sources for better results.

Context

Hipparchus's catalog was one of the first systematic lists of stars used by Ptolemy in his comprehensive work "Almagest."