Four Greek Astronomers

(between June 20th and June 22nd) the Greek Astronomer, Eratosthenes had heard of a famous well in a Egyptian City called Syene (now known as Aswan) located around the Nile River. He knew that every year on the solstice, there was no shadow on the bottom of well but instead the rays of sunlight reflected back, and not on the sides of the well as on other days. He came to a conclusion that the sun was directly overhead in Syene at noon every year. He knew that in his hometown Alexindra, the sun was never directly above him even on the solstice. He assembled a pole in Alexindra to study and calculate the shadows position eventually proving that no sun was directly above but faintly south. Knowing that the earth was curved and knowing the distance between the two cities, Syene and Alexandra he calculated the planets circumference by doing simple geometry. “Eratosthenes could measure the angle of the Sun’s rays off the vertical by dividing the length of the leg opposite the angle (the length of the shadow) by the leg adjacent to the angle (the height of the pole). This gave him an angle of 7.12 degrees. He knew that the circumference of Earth constituted a circle of 360 degrees, so 7.12 (or 7.2, to divide 360 evenly by 50) degrees would be about one-fiftieth of the circumference. He also knew the approximate distance between Alexandria and Syene, so he could set up this

One of Thales’ most renounced findings include his discovery in geometric studies in the area reading the rules of triangles. He came to the conclusion that if the base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal, the sum of the angles of a triangle are equivalent to two right angles. With the application of “geometric principles to life situations, Thales was able to calculate the height of a pyramid by measuring its shadow, and the distance of a boat to the shore, by using the concept of similar triangles” (pg. 5, Muehlbauer). Realizations such as these helped shape the beginning for the formation of natural law based on observations of the world through explanation.

To become a successful astronomer, scientist should be able to do some important things with their work. Just creating a theory is not enough. There is a need for a good background in studying the topic and tons of theories that have proven to fail, skills in using the appropriate tools to get the theories, and skills in presenting your discovery. Learning to be a successful astronomer involves a lot of hard work. There are so many people who have made an impact on the way we see the world now and out of all of them Claudius Ptolemy has to be the best.

Aristarchus knew that on average two times a year, the surface of the full Moon becomes dark for a period ranging up to around two hours. It was reasoned that during these times, the Moon was passing through the shadow cast by the Earth, known as a lunar eclipse. The eclipse would only occur during the full Moon because that 's the time when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. Aristarchus realized that the longest lunar eclipses must occur when the Moon passes right through the center of the Earth 's shadow, and so that the angular size of the Earth 's shadow could be measured by noting the difference in the position of the Moon before and after the eclipse. He could then compare this angular size to the angular size of the Moon to get the ratio between them. He used the formula

Galileo Galilei and Nicolaus Copernicus were only two of the greatest scientific giants. They contributed many things to society. For example, Copernicus was the first notable figure to believe the earth was round and that the universe was heliocentric. But Galileo actually proved the heliocentric universe to be correct because he was the first to point the telescope to the sky and observing sun spots.

Theseus: was a Greek hero remembered for his wisdom and intelligence. His mother was Aethra, and he had two fathers. One father was Poseidon, the god of the sea. The other was Aegeus who was king of Athens, and after he died Theseus took over as king.

Later generations told many anecdotes about this man, who was reckoned among the seven sages, but it is difficult to verify the reliability of these stories. He may have traveled to Egypt, where many Greeks and Carian’s were welcome as merchants and mercenaries, but on the other hand, it was expected that a wise man made a long voyage to gain knowledge, and this story may have been invented to prove that the sage of Miletus was a wise man indeed. (Similar stories are told about Solon and Pythagoras.) It is not even certain whether Thales is the author of published texts. The three titles that are attributed to him may be later inventions, or three names of one and the same poem: Nautical astronomy, on the solstice, and on the equinox. What seems certain, however, is that Thales predicted the solar eclipse of 28 May 585, which was remembered (according to the Greek researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus note) because the Lydian king Alyattes and the Median leader Cyaxares were fighting a battle on that day. However, it must be noted that "predicting" merely meant that Thales announced that it was possible that an eclipse could take place during a particular new moon, because by then, not even Babylonian astronomers were able to predict this impressive phenomenon more accurately. Still, even establishing a possibility was a great leap forward for Greek science. According to a famous story told by Herodotus of Halicarnassus, in c.547 BCE, Thales also changed the course of the river Hales in order to facilitate the crossing of an army of the Lydian king Croesus. Note if this story is true, Thales must have died after this year. Another, perhaps more reliable bit of information is that Thales did geometrical research, which enabled him to measure the seize of the pyramids of Egypt or the distance to a ship at sea. He also proved that a circle is bisected by its diameter, that the angles of the base of an isosceles

Have you ever wondered how many astronomers were out there? And also what they have contributed to this world? Well this astronomer I’m about to talk about, his name is Hipparchus. Hipparchus is a greek astronomer, mathematician and geographer. Hipparchus brought 3 contributions models, another math formula, and a method of prediction. He proposed around 250 BC, the Earth went around the Sun. If you want to find out more about this astronomer keep reading and you’ll find out about his life and about his contribution to this Earth. Also to the mathematical world by bringing another form of math into the equation.

Ptolemaeus is a Greek name, it is said that there is a heroic form behind this, but it’s not sure. When he studies astronomy he developed many techniques that were arithmetical, and it was also for calculating astronomical Phenomena. He claimed that he thought of him models by observing and learning the knowledge from 800 years ago. He knew most of the cancellations and had a star catalogue. He mostly showed his models to people on tables.

The Greeks made several inventions, most notably in the subject of math, which are still studied today and taught in school. Mathematician Euclid is often credited as the “Father of Geometry” for all his work and studies in this subject, which are compiled in his books called The Elements. He organized known geometrical statements called theorems and logically proved all of them. He proved the theorem of Pythagoras (another Greek mathematician), which stated that the equation (c2 = a2 + b2) is true for every right triangle.

First is Issac Newton, although born a farmers son he had bigger dreams than to be a farmer. He attended Cambridge and was elected a minor fellow. In 1668 he constructed the first reflecting telescope. This construction opened doors for his future scientific career. Newton continued experimenting and ultimately determined that white light was composed of all the colors of the spectrum and was made up of particles. This idea lit the fuse on his toxic relationship with Robert Hooke. However, Newton did not let Hooke hold him back instead he began to study gravity. Eventually the studying led

Went into great detail but without the understanding of the basic needs for life and Newton’s law of gravitation.

Since the times of ancient Greece the stars have been looked at with wonder. It was in the stars that they told stories and in the stars that they found their gods. And still today, it would seem,the stars shine awfully bright. Today the stars blind us. The form seemingly perfect constellations. But these constellations hold dead stars light years away. Our stars, our celebrities have been put on a pedestal higher than we think. These people are worshipped like deities, there is a strive to match the perfection that they seem to contain. Through the years there has always been the idea of celebrity culture from the extravagant kings and queens to the presidents to the the ancient pharaohs, the concept has always been there. But in recent

The Greeks make significant advances in the fields of both astronomy and astrology. In astronomy their analytical approach to the heavens leads to early insights of great brilliance, even though they eventually blind European astronomers for more than a millennium with the elaborately observed but entirely false Ptolemaic system.

Miletus is credited as the home of a Greek philosopher named Thales and what is know