1 / 11

Early Astronomy

Josh Mondoux. Early Astronomy. Aristarchus. Aristarchus of Samos was a Greek astronomer and mathematician who lived from approximately 310BC through approximately 250BC.

berit
Télécharger la présentation

Early Astronomy

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Josh Mondoux Early Astronomy

  2. Aristarchus • Aristarchus of Samos was a Greek astronomer and mathematician who lived from approximately 310BC through approximately 250BC. • Like his birth and life, little is known of his death. A crater on the moon is named for him, in its center is a peak which is the brightest formation on the Moon.

  3. Astronomic Accomplishments • He figured out a way (albeit flawed) to measure the distances/sizes of the Sun and Moon. • During a lunar eclipse, he measured the duration of time between when the Moon first entered the umbra and when the Moon was first totally obscured plus the duration of totality. Because he found the two times to be the same, he concluded that the width of the Earth's shadow at the distance where the Moon crosses it must be twice the diameter of the Moon. • However we know that the Earth’s shadow is angled and that the moon is actually ¼ the size of Earth • He also hypothesized that the Sun was 19 times further away from the Earth than the Moon so it is 19 times bigger than the moon, his logic is right but… • The sun is actually 390 times further away then the moon

  4. Awards/Publications • Although he wrote many volumes of commentary and analyses he has only one surviving work, "On the Dimensions and Distances of the Sun and Moon" • Which does not provide his view on the universe. • There are no awards listed but like I said in his bio the brightest spot on the Moon was named after him.

  5. Uxmal • Located 50 miles SW of Mérida, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico • The area around Uxmal was occupied around 800 BC, but the major building period took place around 850-925 AD. • The name Uxmal means 'thrice-built' in Mayan, referring to the fact that the Maya would often build a new temple over an existing one

  6. Purpose/construction • The buildings are made of a limestone base, covered with plaster and then painted to the builder’s desire. • Built by hand with the use of beasts of burden to carry materials. • The city was basically just a city, the major astronomical site is the Governor’s Palace.

  7. Pyramid of the Magician • At 115 ft high it is the tallest structure at Uxmal • Also known as the Pyramid of the Dwarf • The names are derived from a legend about a magical dwarf who was hatched from an egg, grew to adulthood in a single day, and built the pyramid in one night. • This pyramid is very unique because of it’s rounded sides, height, and steepness

  8. Governor’s Palace • It's an imposing three-level edifice with a 320-ft. long mosaic façade • On the east side, the 103 stone masks of Chac slither across the facade like a serpent. • In the open plaza in front of the Palace is the Jaguar Throne, carved like a two-headed jaguar, which the Mayas associated with chiefs and kings. • The building is tilted so that the central doorway, which is larger than the others, is in perfect alignment withVenus. This the Maya astronomers used to determine the perfect time for harvesting.(When they could see Venus)

  9. Governor’s Palace Pyramid of the Magician (West side view)

  10. Works Cited Aristarchus: • Greene, Nick. Aristarchus of Samos Biography. About.com: Space/ Astronomy. <http://space.about.com/od/astronomerbiographies/a/aristarchusbio.htm:> • Aristarchus (310- 230 B.C). <http://www.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses/astro201/aristarchus.htm> Uxmal: • McKenzie, Barbara. Photos from Uxmal. January 8, 2008 <http://mayaruins.com/uxmal01.html> • Uxmal. Sacred Destinations.<http://www.sacred-destinations.com/mexico/uxmal.htm> • Uxmal. Differentworld.com. <http://www.differentworld.com/mexico/areas/yucatan-and-campeche/uxmal/guide.htm>

More Related