AS101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Star Chart, Aryabhatiya, Deferent And Epicycle
Document Summary
Ancient astronomers all over the globe observed the sky and recognized patterns in the motion of the sun, moon, planets, and bright stars. Ancient people of central africa used the observations of the moon to predict seasons. Many archaeological sites reveal that the ancient cultures performed detailed observations of the night sky and possessed intricate knowledge of astronomy. They would record everything down, so now we have a lot of details. Patheolithic cave paintings in france (15 000 bce) may represent a star map or the zodiac. Around 2500 bce, the egyptians were responsible for the emergence of a 365-day calendar. Stonehenge, england-completed 1550 bce- this site may have served as an observatory, as the sun shone through the monument. The sun would shine through the monument during the summer solstice, which was the most important time. Babylonians- some of the best record keepers- their observations of visible planets were very detailed. Also recorded a solar eclipse in 763 bce.
