ASTR 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Ancient Greek Astronomy, Deferent And Epicycle, Copernican Revolution
26 Sep 2018
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Document Summary
Scientific thinking: based on everyday ideas of observation and trial-and-error experiments. Astronomy is the oldest of sciences: often used in keeping track of time and seasons, practical purposes: agriculture, religious and ceremonial purposes. Daily timekeeping: egyptian and babylonian obelisks (3500 bce) were used as sundials to tell time of day, babylonians also developed other types of sundials later adopted by ancient. In scotland, 4000 year old stone circle: moon rises every 19 years. Tracking the seasons: stonehenge (1550 bce, sun dagger in southwestern united states marks summer solstice. Monitoring planets and stars: bone or tortoiseshell inscription from the 14th century bc, china: earliest known records of supernova explosions (1400 bce) Modern science traces its roots to the greeks: greeks were the first people known to make models of nature, they tried to explain patterns in nature without resorting to myth or the supernatural, created geocentric model. Eratosthenes measures the earth: greek scientist eratosthenes was chief librarian of great library of.
