Mar 27, 2016
A look at the work of Ptolemy's Mathematical Treatise, otherwise known as the Almagest. Hipparchus, precession, the Library of Alexandria and the broader Greco-Roman world are also discussed.
Mar 20, 2016
We look at the failure of the Eudoxian model of homocentric spheres and the models of Aristarchus of Samos, Apollonius of Perga and Hipparchus to proposed to replace it. We also discuss the ideas of scientific realism and instrumentalism with respect to Hellenistic astronomy.
Mar 13, 2016
A look at the evidence gathered by the Greek, Hellenistic and Arabic natural philosophers that determined the size and shape of the Earth. Aristotle's lines of evidence are discussed as are the measurements of Eratosthenes, Posidonius and al-Biruni. We also take a look at the myth that it was Columbus who first...
Mar 6, 2016
A look at Greek astronomy from the time of Hesiod and Homer to the spherical model of Aristotle. The writings of Thales, Empedocles, the Pythagoreans and Plato are considered before moving to the sphere's of Eudoxus and Callipus and the synthesis of physics and astronomy by the tutor of Alexander the Great.