h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My copy of Ptolemy's Almagest has arrived. This is a complete summary of everything that was known by the Greeks about astronomy in the year 150 AD. It'll keep me in reading matter for a few weeks.

A rare and wonderful find! Please report on it along the way, instead of waiting to finish it completely!

Oh

Sorry

Sounds fascinating Gnomon

Is it in Arabic? My reference book here says that its original Greek title was Syntaxis, but acquired the name Almagest when translated into Arabic in about AD 820.

G can't read Arabic can he? But it wouldn't be called Ptolemy's Almagest if it wasn't in English, come to think of it

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, G


Fb

*mopping up after GB*

The book was written in Ancient Greek, and was entitled something which means "Mathematical Treatise". It was translated into Arabic because the Arabs were the civilised people in the Middle Ages. It acquired the title "Almagest" which means "The Greatest". It was the standard work of astronomy from the time of its publishing until Copernicus published his theory that the Earth and the planets orbit around the sun.

I'm not reading it in the original Greek or in Arabic, as I don't speak either. It's an English translation, but retains the name "Almagest" because that's the name that has stuck to it.

First impressions:

It's huge - bigger than I expected.

There are no star charts - he gives tables of all the bright stars, each with a description of where in the constellation you find it: "just to the left of the bear's snout", and also celestial co-ordinates, magnitudes etc.

There are huge sections on predicting the positions of the planets, which I've been told are more accurate than Copernicus's heliocentric model, despite being based on the planets orbiting the Earth.

There's stuff about the moon as well, and a three page description of the Milky Way.

Note for Lil - you don't pronounce Copernicus as 'copper knickers'

Oh!

Thank you, Icy

So how do you pronounce Tycho Brahe, then, Icy?

My physics teacher called him 'Taco Breck'. What say you?

Tie Ko Bra Hey?

Hey, we were told "Tie Ko Bra" in school.

My teacher did have a strong East Anglian accent (he ended each sentence with 'boy')

Dear Gnoman,

As I shall never have the opportunity to read what you reading, thank you for your impressions of it so far. So pleased about the Milky Way. I love it!! It is so beautiful in the jet-black African sky . In any case, practically every night we have this wonderful display of the stars and constellations. Have even seen a group of astronauts flying in their soace craft over ~SomersetWest in the Western Cape near Cape Town, and then listening with my late husband to the reception they were receiving at Cape Canaveral 20 minutes later. It was awe inspiring. Cape Town to Cape Canaveral in 20 minutes.

Do you remember the eclipse of the sun that we had a couple of yearw ago. and then I told you about the one that I had seen when I was 12 years old and living in the Karroo in South Africa.? You found out from some of your learned tomes that the date was October 1940. I did not even know what an eclipse was. Was just amazed when all the cockerels started crowing at four o'clock in the afternoon and all the birds tried to go to bed in the middle of the afternoon!!. !1

Ah !! Memories. - What wonderfully precious moments they are.
Christiane.
AR80

I'll try and keep you posted on what I find in the Almagest.

Thanks.