Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics Ed Robert A Myers Academic Press 1989.
"Myths of creation, whether based on purely philosophical speculations, or carrying the authority of (various) conviction, are commonplace in almost all cultures of which we have any knowledge.
Ed: The earliest geocentric system assumed that Earth was the centre of the Universe. After all, do we not see the Sun rise in the morning and set in the evening. The Moon, planets and stars follow similar paths.
Dictionary of Geophysics, Astrophysics and Astronomy Ed Richard A Matzner CRC Press 2001.
Geocentric Centred on the Earth, as in the Ptolemaic model of the Solar System in which planets orbited in circles (deferents) with the Earth near the centre of the deferent.
Ed: In early times, it was believed that the orbits of the planets were circular. After all, everything was ruled by perfection. Eventually it was discovered that the orbits were not circular, and 'sub[circles' or 'epicycles' were introduced to cover up the deficiencies. Eventually, of course, the heliocentric system of Copernicus displaced these older beliefs.
The Discovery of the Universe Carolyn Collins Petersen Amberley 2019
"Early observation posts and temples date back far into prehistory, and in a few places the ancients left us images of what they saw. Some researchers point to the famous cave paintings at Lascaux, France, as an example of early 'space art' in the service of observation. In those darkened, long-hidden caverns, artists who lived some 15,000 to 17,000 years ago reproduced what they saw in the night sky."
Later "Cultures around the world had links to the sky. In Africa, for example, there is a desert basin called the Nabta Playa, in southern Egypt. People who lived some 6,000 to 7,000 years ago erected stones as part of what appears to be a giant solar 'henge'.
Ed: Then, of course, there is the internationally famous 'Stonehenge' on Salisbury Plain. Many astronomical properties have been claimed, but it seems fairly certain that the Summer and Winter solstices were important times for solar observation.
"The Greek-Roman scholar, Claudius Ptolemy, who suggested that Earth was the centre of the Universe, created a work called the Tetrabiblos, which was his treatise on the practices of Astrology and how to use it for predictive purposes."
"Up until the Renaissance, in fact, astrology was taught in universities alongside other sciences. It certainly required dedicated observations of the sky. Planetary motions and star chart making were equally important to astrology as they were to astronomers. Johannes Kepler worked very hard on trying to bring scientific rigor to astrology, even as he was developing his idea of a heliocentric universe."
Work in Progress Last edit Friday 8th April 2022 23.40 BST.
"Myths of creation, whether based on purely philosophical speculations, or carrying the authority of (various) conviction, are commonplace in almost all cultures of which we have any knowledge.
Ed: The earliest geocentric system assumed that Earth was the centre of the Universe. After all, do we not see the Sun rise in the morning and set in the evening. The Moon, planets and stars follow similar paths.
Dictionary of Geophysics, Astrophysics and Astronomy Ed Richard A Matzner CRC Press 2001.
Geocentric Centred on the Earth, as in the Ptolemaic model of the Solar System in which planets orbited in circles (deferents) with the Earth near the centre of the deferent.
Ed: In early times, it was believed that the orbits of the planets were circular. After all, everything was ruled by perfection. Eventually it was discovered that the orbits were not circular, and 'sub[circles' or 'epicycles' were introduced to cover up the deficiencies. Eventually, of course, the heliocentric system of Copernicus displaced these older beliefs.
The Discovery of the Universe Carolyn Collins Petersen Amberley 2019
"Early observation posts and temples date back far into prehistory, and in a few places the ancients left us images of what they saw. Some researchers point to the famous cave paintings at Lascaux, France, as an example of early 'space art' in the service of observation. In those darkened, long-hidden caverns, artists who lived some 15,000 to 17,000 years ago reproduced what they saw in the night sky."
Later "Cultures around the world had links to the sky. In Africa, for example, there is a desert basin called the Nabta Playa, in southern Egypt. People who lived some 6,000 to 7,000 years ago erected stones as part of what appears to be a giant solar 'henge'.
Ed: Then, of course, there is the internationally famous 'Stonehenge' on Salisbury Plain. Many astronomical properties have been claimed, but it seems fairly certain that the Summer and Winter solstices were important times for solar observation.
"The Greek-Roman scholar, Claudius Ptolemy, who suggested that Earth was the centre of the Universe, created a work called the Tetrabiblos, which was his treatise on the practices of Astrology and how to use it for predictive purposes."
"Up until the Renaissance, in fact, astrology was taught in universities alongside other sciences. It certainly required dedicated observations of the sky. Planetary motions and star chart making were equally important to astrology as they were to astronomers. Johannes Kepler worked very hard on trying to bring scientific rigor to astrology, even as he was developing his idea of a heliocentric universe."
Work in Progress Last edit Friday 8th April 2022 23.40 BST.
Last edited:
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