Ptolemy of Alexandria, the Influential Astronomer

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Ptolemy of Alexandria, the Influential Astronomer

Ptolemy of Alexandria was the most influential astronomer of the

ancient world. The books and theories Ptolemy developed served as a major

basis for future astronomers. It was during the Renaissance period that

his work became thoroughly studied and revised.

Ptolemy collected all ancient knowledge of astronomy and geography

including it in his book Almagest around 140 A.D. It follows, he then

wrote a four volume astrological study known as the Tretrabiblos. Ptolemy

claimed that the scribes of Babylon had been instructed since 750 B.C to

keep detailed astronomical diaries. These diaries were written for seven

hundred years on clay tablets. The tablets depicted night-sky events along

with river level changes and weather phenomena. Modern archaeologists have

confirmed the claim by unearthing Babylonian tablets recording observations

of Mars and Venus from that time period.

Ptolemy used a method of consulting lists of lunar phases, and

planetary movements complied over many centuries to look for...

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