Search Results - Ptolemy
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Claudius Ptolemaeus ( Greek ??a?d??? ?t??eµa??? Klaúdios Ptolemaios; after 83 – ca. 168 AD), known in English as Ptolemy (pronounced /'t?l?mi/), was an ancient Hellenistic mathematician, geographer, astronomer, and astrologer. He lived in Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD. [1]Ptolemy was the author of several scientific treatises, three of which would be of continuing importance to later Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest (in Greek, ? ?e???? S??ta???, "The Great Treatise", originally ?a??µat??? S??ta???, "Mathematical Treatise"). The second is the Geography, which is a thorough discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise known as the Tetrabiblos ("Four books") in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. Beyond his being considered a member of Alexandria's Greek society, few details of Ptolemy's life are known. He wrote in Ancient Greek and is known to have utilised Babylonian astronomical data.[2][3] A Roman citizen, some scholars have concluded that ethnically, Ptolemy was a Greek,[4][5][6] and others that he was ethnically an Egyptian, though Hellenized.[7][5][8][9] He was often known in later Arabic sources as "the Upper Egyptian",[10] suggesting that he may have had origins in southern Egypt.[9] Later Arabic astronomers, geographers and physicists referred to him by his Arabicized name Batlamyus.[11] The Almagest is the only surviving comprehensive ancient treatise on astronomy. Babylonian astronomers had developed arithmetical techniques for calculating astronomical phenomena; Greek astronomers such as Hipparchus had produced geometric models for calculating celestial motions; Ptolemy,however, claimed to have derived his geometrical models from selected astronomical observations by his predecessors spanning more than 800 years, though astronomers have for centuries suspected that his models' parameters were adopted independently of observations. [12] Ptolemy presented his astronomical models in convenient tables, which could be used to compute the future or past position of the planets.[13] The Almagest also contains a star catalogue, which is an appropriated version of a catalogue created by Hipparchus. Its list of forty-eight constellations is ancestral to the modern system of constellations, but unlike the modern system they did not cover the whole sky (only the sky Hipparchus could see). Through the Middle Ages it was spoken of as the authoritative text on astronomy, with its author becoming an almost mythical figure, called Ptolemy, King of Alexandria.[14] The Almagest was preserved, like most of Classical Greek science, in Arabic manuscripts (hence its familiar name). Because of its reputation, it was widely sought and was translated twice into Latin in the 12th century, once in Sicily and again in Spain.[15] Ptolemy's model, like those of his predecessors, was geocentric and was almost universally accepted until an equally systematic presentation of a heliocentric geometrical model by Nicolaus Copernicus.
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Showing 1 to 10 of 10 Articles matching 'Ptolemy' in related articles. |
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1. The fact ancient Egyptian language
July 31, 2008
The fact ancient Egyptian language
The most talked about books Chambleon Madjae extensively in the book glossary ancient Egyptian civilization, written by six famous archaeologists in the world. These scientists are :-( 1) George Posner (2) Serge Sonron (3) Jean-Toyota (4) a. A. O. Edwards (5) P. L. Lyonnaise (6) Jean Doris, "Chambleon" retained the carved elephants were found on the island in Aswan contains a cartridge ownership of the names of "Ptolemy and Cleopatra" involved in the characters (P, O, L) and benefited from the ancient texts of the author (unknown) to explain a mysteri... (read more)
Author: hamdey fuad
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2. THE WARDINGTON MANOR near BANBURY, OXON
June 26, 2008
Christopher Henry Beaumont Pease, Lord Wardington, of Wardington Manor, near Banbury -- who has died aged 81 -- was a popular member of the village community and an avid collector of maps and atlases. One of his prize purchases was the first illustrated atlas of the world, Ptolemy's Atlas -- published in 1477. Lord Wardington was awarded the Sir Thomas More Medal for Book Collecting in 1994. In April 2004, when a fire destroyed much of the manor house, dozens of villagers formed a human chain to carry his prized collection of books to safety and the building was under re-construction s... (read more)
Author: Joe Neves
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3. The Law of Attraction and The Weird and Wacky World of Metaphysics
March 26, 2008
Quantum science is going beyond the probe of atoms, and exploring the weird and wacky!
New words are entering science, new ideas, theories and dimensions, String Theory, Zero Point Energy Theory, and Membrane Theory to mention a few.
But the weird and wacky isn’t new to science, there has always been controversy and mystery in the science of the very little.
In ancient Greece there was a controversy about the nature of light. Euclid, Ptolemy and others thought that "light" was some sort of ray that travels from the eye to the observed object.
The atomists and Aristotle as... (read more)
Author: John Peace
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4. Vedic Astronomy II
February 23, 2008
Astronomia Vedica - Part II
Cosmological Time Cycles in Indian Astronomy
Long before Copernicus, Galileo & Ptolemy, Aryabhata propounded the Heliocentric Theory of Gravitation, that all planets revolve around the Sun due to celestial gravity. The term given to Celestial Gravity was Guru-tva-Akarshana, which also has a philosophic meaning. Guru represents the Master, the Inner Sun, symbolic of the Self and the planets that revolve represent the students who are on their way to Self_Actualisation !
In Sanskrit Astronomy is known... (read more)
Author: Govind Kumar
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5. Claudius Ptolemy
December 11, 2006
The astronomer Claudius Ptolemy lived from approximately 100-170 CE. Very little is known of him, including where he was born. Claudius means citizen of Rome, while Ptolemy means resident of Egypt. Some sources indicate that he was a citizen of Rome, others that he lived in Alexandria, Egypt.
He was also a mathematician, geographer and astrologer. In a way, he was to his era what Leonardo da Vinci was to the Renaissance. While many of Claudius Ptolemy’s work has been refuted, his treatises on astronomy, astrology, geography and music were the foundations from which subsequent scientis... (read more)
Author: John Ugoshowa
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6. The Invisible Ether and Michelson Morley
March 13, 2006
Modern scientists adopted the ancient concept of the ether to explain the fundamental nature of the universe. Einstein allegedly dethroned the ether concept with his space time continuum. In spite of this, we might have to revisit the ether concept.
The concept of the invisible ether or 'aether' is an old concept dating to the time of the ancient Greeks. They considered the ether as that medium which permeated all of the universe and even believed the ether to be another element. Along with Earth, Wind, Fire and Water Aristotle proposed that the ether should be treated as the fifth el... (read more)
Author: Michael Strauss
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7. Galactic Mystery - Matter - On the Dark Side
March 13, 2006
Scientific inquiry can be described as a sequence of observations leading to a hypothesis which must be tested by experimentation. The results either validate or invalidate the hypothesis which was under test. Unfortunately, the interpretation of the data sometimes does not elucidate some new truth but rather eclipses our thoughts into a new era of ignorance.
Heralding a new age in the cosmos, Norwegian Kristian Birkeland predicted that the universe likely consisted of an exotic component that would later be called dark matter. His comments about this subject matter appeared in a descr... (read more)
Author: Michael Strauss
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8. Big Bang Booming - Back to the Future
February 09, 2006
Theoretical cosmologists spend much of their time perfecting what is now known as the 'Big Bang' theory. This concept originates from ideas percolating in the minds of scientists, theologians and astronomers down through the ages. However, much of what they consider as proof for the 'Big Bang' is dependent upon uncontrolled experimentation that is molded to meet their expectations. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. This ancient description of the creation of the universe found in the Book of Genesis may be accurate after all. The big bang theory describes the b... (read more)
Author: Michael Strauss
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9. "WE DON'T know what we are talking about" - Nobel Laureate David Gross
January 10, 2006
Science has reached an enormous impasse. From biology to physics, astronomy to genetics, the scientific community is reaching the limits of understanding which often presage a complete rethinking of long-accepted theories. So characteristic of this new apex of modern arrogance is the inability to comprehend the obvious in physics: That we don't know what we are talking about.
Last December ('05), physicists held the 23rd Solvay Conference in Brussels, Belgium. Amongst the many topics covered in the conference was the subject matter of string theory. This theory combines the apparently... (read more)
Author: Michael Strauss
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10. The Lighthouse of Alexandria
May 28, 2005
The Lighthouse of Alexandria is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is the most recent Wonder to be built, having been built during the reign of Ptolemy I of Egypt, a commander under Alexander the Great who took over control of Egypt after Alexander's death. Historical records indicate that the Lighthouse was commissioned in 290 B.C. and completed some 2 decades later.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria is also the most well-recorded of the six destroyed members of the Seven Wonders of The Ancient World (the Pyramids of Giza being the only Wonder still standing), since it was still ... (read more)
Author: Steven N. Ng
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