Ancient Astronomy

Daisy M. Foronda
Physical Science Teacher
Objective;
At the end of the lesson, you will be able to;

 Discuss the thoughts of philosophers about the shape of the Earth;

 Describe the size of the Earth; and
 Realize the importance of the shape of the Earth.
 Directions: Unscramble the letters of each word related to ancient
astronomy using the clues that describe it. Write it on the line provided.

GREEKS
K R G E E S _______________________ 1. They are much noted for their contributions in different fields.
They were not only great philosophers but great scientists and mathematicians as
well.
CIMELOTP
PTOLEMIC
LEDOM _______________________ 2. It claims that the planets moved in a complicated system of
MODEL
circles. This model also became known as the Ptolemic System.
TOBALE
OBLATE SPHERIOD The shape of the Earth. It has bulging equator and squeezed
R O D I H S P E ______________________3.
poles.
THONR
S RAT NORTH STAR
_______________________4. It was believed to be in fixed position in the sky. However,
when the Greeks traveled to places nearer the equator, like Egypt, they
noticed that it is closer to the horizon.
ARISTOTLE
S A R T I T L O E______________________5. A student of Plato and considered as one of the great
philosophers of his time; his earth-centered view dominated for almost 2,000 years.
 Directions: Unscramble the letters of each word related to ancient astronomy using
the clues that describe it. Write it on the line provided.

CEILSPE ECLIPSE
______________________6. An astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical
object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured by passing into the shadow of
another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer.
H S A W O D _______________________7. A dark (real image) area where light from a light source is
SHADOW
blocked by an opaque object.

R A E T O S H T E N S E _______________________8. A Greek philosopher who computed the

ERATOSPHENES
circumference of the Earth and who gave the most accurate size during
their time.
TRE RGRODAE
RETROGRADE An apparent change in the movement of the planet through the
M O I T O N _______________________9.
sky. It is notMOTION
real in that the planet does not physically start moving
backwards in its orbit. It just appears to do so because of the relative positions of the planet and
Earth and how they are moving around the Sun.
WTINRE
LO S I C T E S _____________________10. A moment when the Sun's path in the sky is farthest south in the
Northern Hemisphere or farthest north in the Southern Hemisphere.
WINTER SOLSTICE
 Directions: Unscramble the letters of each word related to ancient astronomy using
the clues that describe it. Write it on the line provided.

MM U S R E
SUMMER SOLSTICE The longest day of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere it is in
L O S I C T E S _____________________11.
June, while in the Southern Hemisphere it's in December.
HELIOCENTRISM
SH L E O I C E T N R I M ______________________12. The astronomical model in which the Earth and
planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the Solar System.
TR S I M E G O E N C _______________________13. Any theory of the structure of the solar system (or the
GEOCENTRISM
universe) in which Earth is assumed to be at the center of it all.
CO LNIUAS
S C O E P R N I U C _______________________ 14. He considered the sun as
the stationery center of the universe. He classified Earth
NICOLAUS
as a planet just like Mercury, COPERNICUS
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
LLIEAGO
G I A L I L E ________________________15. He was the greatest Italian scientist of the Renaissance. Due
to the telescope, he was able to discover and observe important astronomical
facts such as lunar craters,
GALILEO the phases
GALILEI of the Venus, the moons of Jupiter, sun spots, and the
sizes of the stars.
.
 Celestial Sphere.
Hollow sphere
located beyond
the planets. They
called this sphere
as the celestial
sphere.
 Key Terms

Eclipse Heliocentrism
Solstice Geocentrism
Oblate spheroid either of the two times an obscuring of the light the astronomical
the shape of the in the year, the summer from one celestial body model in which the any theory of the
Earth. It has bulging solstice and the winter by the passage of Earth and planets structure of the solar
equator and solstice, when the sun another between it and revolve around the system (or the
squeezed poles. reaches its highest or the observer or between Sun. universe) in which
lowest point in the sky it and its source of Earth is assumed to
at noon, marked by the illumination. be at the center of it
longest and shortest all.
days.
Pythagoras
“
Around 500 B.C., most Greeks believed
that the Earth was round, not flat. It was
Pythagoras and his pupils who were first to
propose a spherical Earth.
“ In 500 to 430 B.C., Anaxagoras further
supported Pythagoras' proposal through his
observations of the shadows that the Earth
cast on the Moon during a lunar eclipse.
He observed that during a lunar eclipse, Anaxagoras
the Earth's shadow was reflected on the
Moon's surface. The shadow reflected was
circular.
 “
Around 340 B.C., Aristotle listed several
arguments for a spherical Earth which

Aristotle included the positions of the North star, the

shape of the Moon and the Sun, and the
disappearance of the ships when they sail
over the horizon.
The
The Shape
Shape of
of the
the Sun
Sun and
and the
the Moon
Moon

“ The Shape of the Sun and the Moon

Aristotle argued that if the Moon and
the Sun were both spherical, then
perhaps, the Earth was also spherical.

Your Text
Disappearing
Disappearing Ships
Ships

“ If the Earth was flat, then a ship traveling away

from an observer should become smaller and
smaller until it disappeared. However, the
Greeks observed that the ship became smaller
and then its hull disappeared first before the sail
as if it was being enveloped by the water until it
completely disappeared.
 The Size of the Spherical Earth
Shows how Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the Earth.

Ancient scholars tried to provide proof of a spherical

Earth and its circumference through calculations.
It was Eratosthenes who gave the most accurate size during their time.
While he was working at the Library of Alexandria in Northern Egypt,
he received correspondence from Syene in Southern Egypt which stated
that a vertical object did not cast any shadow at noontime
during the summer solstice. But this was not the case in Alexandria
where, at noon time during the summer solstice, a vertical object still
casts a shadow. These observations could only mean that the Sun,
during this time in Alexandria, was not directly overhead.
Eratosthenes then determined the angle the Sun made with
the vertical direction by measuring the shadow that a
vertical stick cast. He found out that in Alexandria, the Sun
makes an angle of 7.2° from the vertical while 0° in Syene.
To explain the difference, he hypothesized that the light rays
coming from the sun are parallel, and the Earth is curved.

From his measurements, he computed the

circumference of the Earth to be
approximately 250 000 stadia (a stadium is a
unit of measurement used to describe the size
of a typical stadium at the time), about 40 000
kilometers.
 The Earth casts a circular shadow on the
The
The following
following Moon during a lunar eclipse.

Observations
Observations The North Star has different positions
depending on the location of the observer.

led
led the
the Greeks
Greeks The Moon and the Sun are both spherical.

to
to conclude
conclude A sailing ship becomes smaller and then its

that
that the
the Earth
Earth hull disappears first before the sail as if it is
being enveloped by the water until it
completely disappears.

is
is sphere:
sphere:
 Greek
Astronomers:
 Anaxagoras

Anaxagoras was able to explain

what causes the phases of the
moon.
According to him, the moon
shone only by reflected sunlight.
Since it is a
sphere, only half of it illuminated
at a time. This illuminated part
that is
visible from the earth changes
periodically.
 Eudoxus

Eudoxus proposed a system of

fixed spheres. He believed that
the
Sun, the moon, the five known
planets and the stars were
attached to these
spheres which carried the
heavenly bodies while they
revolved around the
stationary Earth.
 Aristotle

Aristotle was a student of Plato.

For him, the earth is spherical in
shape since it always casts a
curved shadow when it eclipses
the moon. He
also believed that the earth was
the center of the universe. The
planets and
stars were concentric, crystalline
spheres centered on the earth.
 Aristarchus
Aristarchus is the very first Greek to profess the heliocentric
view. The
word helios means sun; centric means centered. This
heliocentric view
considered the sun as the center of the universe. He learned
that the sun
was many time farther than the moon and that it was much
larger than the
earth. He also made an attempt to calculate the distance of
the sun and the
moon by using geometric principles. He based his
calculations on his
estimated diameters of the earth and moon, and expressed
distance in terms
of diameter. However, the measurements he got were very
small and there
were a lot of observational errors. shape since it always casts
a curved shadow when it eclipses the moon. He
also believed that the earth was the center of the universe.
The planets and
stars were concentric, crystalline spheres centered on the
earth.
 The first successful attempt to determine the size of the earth was
made by him. He did this by applying geometric principles. He observed the
angles of the noonday sun in two Egyptian cities that were almost opposite
each other- Syene (now Aswan) in the south and Alexandria in the north. He
assumed they were in the same longitude.

Eratosthenes
 Hipparchus is considered as the greatest of the early Greek
astronomers. He observed and compared the brightness of 850 stars and
arranged them into order of brightness or magnitude.
He developed a method for predicting the times of lunar eclipses to
within a few hours. Aside from this, he also measured the length of the year
to within minutes of the modern value.

Hipparchus
 He believed that the earth was the center of the universe. His Ptolemic
Model claimed that the planets moved in a complicated system of circles.
This geocentric model also became known as the Ptolemic System.

Claudius Ptolemy
 Hipparchus is considered as the greatest of the early Greek
astronomers. He observed and compared the brightness of 850 stars and
arranged them into order of brightness or magnitude.
He developed a method for predicting the times of lunar eclipses to
within a few hours. Aside from this, he also measured the length of the year
to within minutes of the modern value.

Hipparchus
The Ptolemic Model

Ptolemic Model showing

Geocentrism
 Retrograde Motion

At a certain point, the planet appears to stop then moves in the opposite direction for
some time; after which it will resume its eartward motion. This westward drift of the
planets is called retrograde motion.
 Epicycles

To justify his earth-centered

model using retrograde
motion, he further explained
that the planets orbited on
small circles, called epicycles.
Deferents
revolving around large
circles called deferents.
 Aristotle’s Conclusion
through observation and
by using logic and reason

centuries after the ancient

scholar’s death,
Aristotle the Father his methods formed
of Natural Science the basis of the scientific method.

Most people in Aristotle’s

time believed the earth was flat
 Aristotle’s Conclusion
Firstly, Aristotle And lastly he
He also watched
considered the observed the
ships sailing into
position of the shadow cast during
port.
North Star. eclipses.

The farther north you He noticed that at a

journeyed, distance, he could see
the closer the North the tops of their sails
Star seemed before he saw the rest of
to move to the middle the ship.
of the sky.
Thank you!