23. Diary No. -567 (568 BCE)
The Diary begins in Year 37 of Nebukadnezar, Month 1, the 1st day which authors Sachs & Hunger identify as -567, Apr 22/23. The tablet has 19 lines on one side (Obv), 21 on the other (Rev), and a few more along the edges. Much of the text is lost. Only a section of the tablet survives and some of the inscriptions have deteriorated. Still, the tablet logs more than 40 readable astronomical observations.
24. Box Score, Diary No. -567
Of more than 40 observations tallied in the Diary, all but 3 entries closely match computed values.
Additionally, several correlations are not clear-cut. For example, Line 2 logs Saturn was in front of the Swallow. TheSky software computes Saturn in Pisces, which is the constellation associated with the Swallow. However, the Swallow is ill-defined. It may denote a part of the whole constellation, or a particular star within Pisces. Thus the match is satisfactory, but imprecise.
25. More Box Score
There was 1 obvious scribal error in Diary No. -567. Computer skyshots demonstrate that Line 3: Night of the 9th should read Night of the 8th.
26. Still Box Score
Diary Line 14 logs, Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, the moon passed towards the east 1 cubit [above/below] the bright star at the end of the Lion's foot.
At sunset on June 24th (night of the 5th), TheSky computes the moon was high in the western sky, nowhere near a "bright star at the end of the Lionís foot." The Skyshot shows the moon in Virgo. It had passed through Leo a couple of days earlier, at which time it was nearby Venus. (See SkyShot) Clearly, the computed position of the moon does not match the Diary record.
27. What's the Difference
A noteworthy divergence crops up in the analysis of Line 16 The 12th, one god was seen with the other, sunrise to moonset: 1° 30'.
Translated in modern terms: On the morning of the 12th (Mar 26, -566), a sliver of the moon was visible in the western sky as the sun rose in the east. Then the moon set 6 minutes later (1° 30').
However, TheSky software shows the moon was no longer in the sky at sunrise on the morning of Mar 26th. It had set 3 minutes prior to sunrise rather than 6 minutes afterwards - a difference of 9 minutes.