Scribd
Upload
30 views

Ancient Greek View of The Cosmos

1. Ancient Greek astronomers developed three models of terrestrial motion: diurnal motion caused by the Earth's rotation, annual motion caused by the Earth's revolution around the Sun, and precession of the equinoxes caused by the Earth's wobbling every 26,000 years due to gravitational forces. 2. The notion that Earth is spherical was supported by observations of ships appearing mast-first over the horizon and changes in celestial pole altitude when traveling north or south, as well as the Earth casting a round shadow during lunar eclipses. 3. Early Greek models of the universe included Anaximander's cylindrical Earth-centered model, Herakleides' model with a spherical Earth rotating on

Uploaded by

jehonieee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
30 views

Ancient Greek View of The Cosmos

1. Ancient Greek astronomers developed three models of terrestrial motion: diurnal motion caused by the Earth's rotation, annual motion caused by the Earth's revolution around the Sun, and precession of the equinoxes caused by the Earth's wobbling every 26,000 years due to gravitational forces. 2. The notion that Earth is spherical was supported by observations of ships appearing mast-first over the horizon and changes in celestial pole altitude when traveling north or south, as well as the Earth casting a round shadow during lunar eclipses. 3. Early Greek models of the universe included Anaximander's cylindrical Earth-centered model, Herakleides' model with a spherical Earth rotating on

Uploaded by

jehonieee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 14

Ancient Greek View of the

Cosmos
Three Types of Terrestrial
Motion
Diurnal Motion
• Movements of the
heavenly bodies from
east to west
• Caused by the daily
rotation of the Earth on its
axis
Annual Motion
• These phenomena are due to the yearly revolution of the
Earth around the sun
• The Sun has been observed to be moving slowly against the
stars and that its position during sunrise and sunset
changes along the horizon
Precession of Equinoxes
• The two Celestial poles
where the Earth’s axis of
rotation intersects the
celestial sphere.
• Effect of the wobbling of the
Earth every 26 000 years,
which is due to the
gravitational pull of both
Sun and Moon on the
planet
Spherical Earth
Spherical Earth
• This notion that Earth is spherical in shape was supported by the
following widely accepted observations:

1.When ships sail in and out from the harbor, the mast of the ship is
the first to appear and last to disappear
2.As you travel north or south, the altitude of the celestial pole
changes
3.During a lunar eclipse, the shadow of the Earth is always round, a
shadow that only a sphere can produce
Greek Model of the Universe
Anaximander’s Model of the Universe

• Anaximander (610-546 B.C.)


inside use of some of the
ideas of Thales and
proposed a cylindrical model
of the Earth that was
stationary at the center of the
universe.
• Earth was surrounded by air,
then one or more spherical
shells with holes in them
Herakleides’s Model of the Universe

• Herakleides (390 – 310


B.C.), a student of Plato
and Aristotle, but greatly
influenced by Pythagoras,
improved the ideas of
Philolaus in creating a
model of the universe with
a spherical Earth rotating
on its axis
Aristarchus’s Model of the Universe

• Aristarchus of Samos (310 –


230 B.C.) proposed a model
that placed the Sun at the
center of the universe
• All planets, including Earth,
revolved around the Sun in
circular orbits and that the
Earth rotated once a day on
its axis and the Moon revolved
around the Earth
• Aristarchus’s model was not widely accepted because of the fact
that his origins writings were lost when the Great Library of
Alexandria was destroyed
Constraints on the Greek
Models: Plato’s “Saving the
Appearance”
• Observations showed that planets shift slightly eastward
from night to night, drifting slowly against a fixed star
background.
• From time to time they change direction, and for a few
months the planets will head west before going back
around and resume an easterly course.
• Plato adopted the ideas of Pythagoras and came up
with his own model of the universe. He believed that
spheres and circles (sphere in 2D) constitute perfection
in geometrical shapes, he argued that “bodies in the
heavens” should be approximately defined and
described by perfect shapes, including how they move.

You might also like