Geometry in Greek
Astronomy By Semira Abdu
Nov 28/2016
• Charted the stars and named the constellations
• They Identified the 12 signs of Zodiac
• They further partitioned each sign into 30 degrees so that the
zodiac circle has 360 degrees
• Their system of angular measure like degree, minutes and
seconds still in use today
• They also tracked the movement of the sun, the moon, and at
least three of the five visible planets, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter.
• Predicted Solar and Lunar eclipse
• Refined astronomy from being an observational science with
an element prediction into a full blown theoretical science.
• They understood the night sky like a map
• To the Greeks the universe was a machine that ran upon
mechanical and mathematical principles , which could be
deduced through logic and reasoning
• The first notable Greek Philosopher and Astronomer
• He successfully predicted an eclipse in 585 BCE
• He is also credited with inventing trigonometry
• From scattered records, it seems that he believed that the was
flat.
• Better known for his idea about evolution, he was the first
Greek philosopher to create a cosmological model.
• He believes that the earth was cylindrical in shape
• He postulated that the earth was spherical
• He suggested that the movement of the planets, sun , moon
and stars could be described by whole numbers and
mathematical precision.he also discovered that the morning
and evening stars are the same things the planet Venus.
• He believed that the sun was a huge mass of blazing metal
and the heavenly bodies were rock torn from the earth and
set aflame by rapid rotation.
• he believed the earth was flat
• Heraclieds was the first to suggest the sun is the centre of
the universe. A concept that would not be accepted until
Copernicusn early 2000 years later
• there two astronomers were a great influence on one of the
most famous philosopher, Plato
• He believed that the entire cosmos was constructed with
precision and that circles and spheres as the most perfect
objects and that they were the key to understanding the
universe.
• He proposed that the stars, sun, and moon were fixed to
concentric crystalline spheres rotating inside one another
• Aristarchus teacher of Archimedes was the first astronomer to
make reasonable estimate of the distance of the sun and the
moon for the earth.
• he believed that the earth rotated about its axis
• Dm/Rm=Ds/Rs=2pi/720
• sinθ=Rm/Rs
Exam question
Express Rm,Rs, and Ds in terms of θ and Dm
* A Survey of classical and modern geometry, Arthur
Banger,2011
* Ede, A. & Cormack, L.B. (2012). A History of Science in
Society: From the Ancient Greeks to the Scientific
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Toronto Press
* Lloyd, G.E.R. (2006). Principles and Practices in Ancient
Greek and Ancient Chinese Science. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate
* Tuplin, C.J. & Rihill, T.E. (2002). Science and Mathematics
in Ancient Greek Culture. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press