Timelines of Events

550 BCE
- Anaximander of Miletus: He produced attempts to explain the science of the universe.
530 BCE
- Pythagoras: He established a school in Croton and promoted the idea of a cosmos in which bodies move in perfect spheres.
350 BCE
- Aristotle: In his On the Heavens, he outlined an Earth-centered model of the universe. Many of his ideas will dominate thinking for 2,000 years.
220 BCE
- Aristarchus of Samos: He proposed a sun-centered model of the universe, but his concept is not widely accepted.
200 BCE
- Eratothenes of Alexandria: He calculated the distance to the sun by measuring the circumference of the Earth.
150 CE
- Ptolemy: He wrote the Almagest, setting out an Earth-centered model of the universe that which are widely accepted.
499 CE
- Aryabhata of Aryabhatiya: An Indian astronomer, claims that the stars move across the sky because the Earth rotates.
1025
- Ibn al-Haytham creates a work that criticizes the complexity of the Ptolemaic model of the universe.
1180
- Gerard of Cremona made Arabic texts, including the Almagest, which made it accessible in Europe and translated them to Latin.
1279
- Guo Shoujing, a Chinese astronomer, he determined the length of the solar year with precision.
1437
- Ulugh Beg, a Mongol Rule, corrected many of the postions of stars found in the Almagest.
1543
- Nicolaus Copernicus: His book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium is published, outlining a sun-centered cosmos.

Ancient Greece and its colonies are where the traditions that form the foundation of modern astronomy.

In Mesopotamia, astronomy was based on mythology, and divining the future was a major concern.
Thales of Miletus: He was the first in a long line of philosophers who believed that logical reasoning could reveal the immutable laws of nature.

Aristotle’s beliefs

Aristotle was a student of Plato, and both shared Pythagoras' ideas, which held that the natural world was a "cosmos" as opposed to a "chaos."
Aristotle claimed that the heavenly realms are perfect and unchanging, but he also supported ideas that made "common sense" sense.
His philosophy was adopted as the overall framework of ideas for science that was the most agreeable, and it was later incorporated into Christian theology.

Geometrical order

In 150 CE, Ptolemy compiled the ultimate compendium of Greek astronomy.
By 500 CE, the Greek approach to astronomy had lost momentum.
After Ptolemy, there were no significant astronomical innovations in this tradition for nearly 1,400 years.
Large civilizations like those in China, India, and the Islamic world all created their own traditions.
- Astronomers from China, the Arab world, and Japan documented the 1054 supernova, which created the well-known Crab nebula in the constellation Taurus.
“It is the duty of an astronomer to compose the history of the celestial motions through careful and expert study.” — Nicolaus Copernicus

The spread of learning

Greek science made a circuitous journey back to Europe.
In 740 CE, Baghdad grew into an important learning center for the Islamic world.
Ptolemy’s Almagest, his great compendium was translated into Arabic.
In the 12th century, many Arabic texts were translated into Latin, allowing the legacy of Greek philosophers as well as Islamic scholars to reach Western Europe.
Throughout his life, Nicolaus Copernicus collected books, including Ptolemy's works.
Copernicus believed that Ptolemy's geometrical constructions fell short of the goal that the original Greek philosophers had set for them: to describe nature through the discovery of basic principles.
Even though Copernicus intuitively understood that a sun-centered approach could result in a much simpler system, his unwillingness to give up circular motion ultimately prevented him from achieving true success.

Home

Science

Astronomy

Astronomy: Myth and Science

Timelines of Events

550 BCE
- Anaximander of Miletus: He produced attempts to explain the science of the universe.
530 BCE
- Pythagoras: He established a school in Croton and promoted the idea of a cosmos in which bodies move in perfect spheres.
350 BCE
- Aristotle: In his On the Heavens, he outlined an Earth-centered model of the universe. Many of his ideas will dominate thinking for 2,000 years.
220 BCE
- Aristarchus of Samos: He proposed a sun-centered model of the universe, but his concept is not widely accepted.
200 BCE
- Eratothenes of Alexandria: He calculated the distance to the sun by measuring the circumference of the Earth.
150 CE
- Ptolemy: He wrote the Almagest, setting out an Earth-centered model of the universe that which are widely accepted.
499 CE
- Aryabhata of Aryabhatiya: An Indian astronomer, claims that the stars move across the sky because the Earth rotates.
1025
- Ibn al-Haytham creates a work that criticizes the complexity of the Ptolemaic model of the universe.
1180
- Gerard of Cremona made Arabic texts, including the Almagest, which made it accessible in Europe and translated them to Latin.
1279
- Guo Shoujing, a Chinese astronomer, he determined the length of the solar year with precision.
1437
- Ulugh Beg, a Mongol Rule, corrected many of the postions of stars found in the Almagest.
1543
- Nicolaus Copernicus: His book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium is published, outlining a sun-centered cosmos.

Ancient Greece and its colonies are where the traditions that form the foundation of modern astronomy.

In Mesopotamia, astronomy was based on mythology, and divining the future was a major concern.
Thales of Miletus: He was the first in a long line of philosophers who believed that logical reasoning could reveal the immutable laws of nature.

Aristotle’s beliefs

Aristotle was a student of Plato, and both shared Pythagoras' ideas, which held that the natural world was a "cosmos" as opposed to a "chaos."
Aristotle claimed that the heavenly realms are perfect and unchanging, but he also supported ideas that made "common sense" sense.
His philosophy was adopted as the overall framework of ideas for science that was the most agreeable, and it was later incorporated into Christian theology.

Geometrical order

In 150 CE, Ptolemy compiled the ultimate compendium of Greek astronomy.
By 500 CE, the Greek approach to astronomy had lost momentum.
After Ptolemy, there were no significant astronomical innovations in this tradition for nearly 1,400 years.
Large civilizations like those in China, India, and the Islamic world all created their own traditions.
- Astronomers from China, the Arab world, and Japan documented the 1054 supernova, which created the well-known Crab nebula in the constellation Taurus.
“It is the duty of an astronomer to compose the history of the celestial motions through careful and expert study.” — Nicolaus Copernicus

The spread of learning

Greek science made a circuitous journey back to Europe.
In 740 CE, Baghdad grew into an important learning center for the Islamic world.
Ptolemy’s Almagest, his great compendium was translated into Arabic.
In the 12th century, many Arabic texts were translated into Latin, allowing the legacy of Greek philosophers as well as Islamic scholars to reach Western Europe.
Throughout his life, Nicolaus Copernicus collected books, including Ptolemy's works.
Copernicus believed that Ptolemy's geometrical constructions fell short of the goal that the original Greek philosophers had set for them: to describe nature through the discovery of basic principles.
Even though Copernicus intuitively understood that a sun-centered approach could result in a much simpler system, his unwillingness to give up circular motion ultimately prevented him from achieving true success.