Development of astronomy

From ancient times until the Renaissance

astronomy was orientated on the most accurate
description of motions of celestial bodies observed
with the naked eye: stars, and mainly planets
including the Sun and the Moon. The Earth
occupied a special position in the universe. In
ancient times astronomy could be divided into two
branches: a practical one, which was connected to
the needs of everyday life; and a scientific one,
which was focused on the formation of
mathematical models, with the use of which
planetary motions on the celestial sphere could be
described accurately and their future location
predicted. The first trend prevailed in the cultures
of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the second one
reached its climax in Greece and had a decisive
influence in the way mathematical astronomy was practised in Latin Europe until the times of
Copernicus.
Such achievements of astronomy in ancient Egypt as the introduction of a calendar employing a year
having 365 days around 3000 BC and division of the night and, by analogy, the day into 12 parts, may be
considered to be the most lasting.. Even Copernicus in Book 3 of his De revolutionibus commented on
the usefulness of the Egyptian year: In computing the heavenly motions, however, I shall use Egyptian
years everywhere. Among the civil [years], they alone are found to be uniform (translated by Edward
Rosen).
In ancient Mesopotamia, around 3000 BC the Sumerians made their contribution to astronomy by
naming the constellations: some of the names are still used today, for example: the Bull, the Lion, or the
Scorpion. The earliest Babylonian astronomical texts date from the second half of the second
millennium BC; they are collections of information on various phenomena, such as visibility of the
planets, associated with the predictions concerning the fate of nations and rulers. Thus, the
development of astronomy in Mesopotamia was very closely related to the amazing role of celestial
omens in social and political life, although the most significant scientific achievements went far beyond
that sort of use. It is from Babylonian astronomy that the Zodiac (c. 5th century BC) as a collection of
constellations and as a great circle divided into 12 signs which is the basis of an coordinate system in the
celestial sphere originates. A degree (as a basic unit of angular measurement) and the sexagesimal
system also originate from that mathematical tradition. In addition to the texts full of information about
the observed astronomical phenomena (for example the list of eclipses dating from the seventh century

BC), Babylonian astronomy also left accurately calculated

basic parameters, such as a synodic month, tropical year, or
periods of revolutions of planets (synodic phases). Around
500 BC mathematical methods were formed in Babylonian
astronomy, which, on the basis of devised algorithms and
with the use of several defined parameters, would enable
calculation of time of occurrence of important astronomical
phenomena, such as new and full Moon, eclipses, periods of
visibility of planets, and their oppositions and stations.
The astronomy of ancient Greece formed a model of making
science that combined two elements: the theory, which in
the description of celestial phenomena made use of
geometry (the original Greek idea); and predictions of the
positions of celestial bodies in the form of numerical data (a
tradition taken from Mesopotamia). Greek astronomy
developed within the scope of a bispherical model of the
world, according to which the spherical Earth was
surrounded by the sphere of stars and other celestial bodies
were moving in the area situated between those boundaries.
This model was developed probably in the 4th century BC, although the identification of the spherical
shape of the Earth is attributed to Pythagoras (c. 572- c. 497 BC), whereas according to tradition it was
Plato (c. 437-374 BC) who probably suggested that astronomers should elucidate the behaviour of
observed celestial bodies exclusively with the use of uniform and circular motions and a combination of
these two.
That programme resulted in the introduction of two geometrical models of planetary orbits by
Apollonius of Perga (c. 262- c. 190 BC). In the first one a planet revolved around the Earth with uniform
motion along a circle, but the Earth was not at the centre, but a little away from it; this caused changes
in the distance of the planet from the Earth, and thus in the speed of the planet in comparison to stars.
In the second device a planet moved in uniform motion along a small circle called an epicycle, the centre
of which also moved in uniform motion along a large circle, i.e. a deferent, the centre of which
overlapped with the Earth. The first of these models, the eccentric circle, as it is called, was used by
Hipparchus (2nd century BC) to describe motion of the Sun around the Earth. The second device was
used by him in the model of the lunar motion; in his calculations of the parameters of the lunar orbit the
scholar used the data from Babyloniansources. The discovery of the phenomenon of precession, the
conducting of systematic observations and the producing of the first comprehensive catalogue of stars
are also attributed to Hipparchus.
Information on Hipparchuss achievements survived only in the fragments of Ptolemys Almagest(2nd
century BC). When working in Alexandria Ptolemy described in his famous work a complete system of
geometrical planetary models and tables related to them, which would enable the location of the Sun,
the Moon and the planets at any given future or past time. Ptolemy introduced a certain improvement

to Apollonius solutions: the centre of the epicycle moved along the deferent with variable speed, but in
such a way that it remained invariable in relation to the equant - a point situated as the mirror image of
the Earth, on the opposite side of the centre of the deferent and at an equal distance from it. It was a
significant departure from the Aristotles theory of motion in the ethereal world. Ptolemys work is the
crowning achievement of ancient astronomy.
In the Middle Ages it was works by Muslim astronomers and the search for an improved version of
Ptolemys system by European scholars that had the greatest influence on development of astronomy,
which eventually resulted in Copernicuss heliocentric model.
Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries astronomy developed successfully in Islamic countries: in
the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Moorish Spain. Two factors were the cause of that, geographical
proximity of these countries to the global centres of ancient science, where academic texts could be
found; and religious practices of Islam, which set upon astronomy many tasks concerning timekeeping
(lunar calendar, the requirement of praying five times a day) and determining the direction towards
Mecca in any place in the world. In the ninth century, most Greek scholarly treaties, including
Ptolemys Almagest, had already been translated into Arabic. These works reached Western Europe
through Spain. Islamic scholars made a large contribution to the development of spherical astronomy
(solutions of triangles on the sphere), which is reflected in terminology adopted from Arabic: zenith,
nadir, azimuth. A critical review of the catalog of 1022 stars in the Almagest compiled by Abd al-Rahman
al-Sufi (903-986) in the tenth century may be considered a proof that Islamic scholars displayed great
interest in it. With the spread of the Arabic version of the planispheric astrolabe, a device used to solve
problems of spherical astronomy and at the same time being a miniature celestial map throughout
Europe Arabic names of the brightest stars became popular, often in a heavily distorted form.
Islamic astronomers attempted to calculate more precise parameters of orbits in the Ptolemaic system.
Thabit ibn Qurra (9th century) formed a new theory of precession. On the basis of his own observations
Muhammad al-Battani (c. 854-929) improved many parameters of the geocentric model (including the
solar orbit). The astronomical tables of al-Zarqali (Azarquiel; 9th century), which were also known as
the Toledan Tables, were very popular and very quickly translated into Latin.
In Europe after the publication of the Almagest cultivation of mathematical astronomy in accordance
with the tradition of Greek science was stopped. In the late Antiquity and early Middle Ages there were
very few Western works that referred to achievements of ancient astronomy. Mathematical astronomy
was substituted by the science of the computus, the main task of which was setting the date of Easter.
Revival of astronomy in Western Europe was associated with the adoption of Arabic translations of
works by Greek authors and original works of Islamic scholars in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in
the Spanish centres. On the basis of a translation of Al-Farghanis work, Johannes de Sacrobosco (John of
Holywood) wrote the Tractatus de sphaera at the beginning of the thirteenth century, the four books of
which were to popularise the basics of Ptolemys astronomy. In the second half of the thirteenth century
the Alfonsine Tables (the final editing of which is attributed to the scientific community of Paris) were
published under the patronage of Alfonso X the Wise, king of Castile and Leon, and provided the

methods of calculation of planetary positions in accordance with the Ptolemaic model. They replaced
the Toledan Tables and became very popular among astronomers and astrologers. Copernicus came into
possession of a copy of theAlfonsine Tables in 1492 when he was still studying at the University in
Cracow.
A significant progress in European astronomy took place in the fifteenth century. Two centres played an
important role then: the one in Nuremberg-Vienna and the other in Cracow. Two names may be
associated with the first one: Georg Peurbach (1423-1461) and Johannes Mller (Regiomontanus; 14361476).