ANCIENT ASTRONOMY

WEEK 1 QUARTER 4
Directions: Unscramble the letters of each word
related to ancient astronomy using the clues that
describe it. Write it on the line provided
• K R G E E S _______________________ 1. They are much
noted for their contributions in different fields. They were not
only great philosophers but great scientists and
mathematicians as well.

•CIMELOTP
• L E D O M _______________________ 2. It claims that the
planets moved in a complicated system of circles. This model
also became known as the Ptolemic System.
• TOBALE
• R O D I H S P E ______________________3. The shape
of the Earth. It has bulging equator and squeezed poles.
•THONR
• S R A T _______________________4. It was believed to
be in fixed position in the sky. However, when the Greeks
traveled to places nearer the equator, like Egypt, they
noticed that it is closer to the horizon.
• S A R T I T L O E______________________5. A student
of Plato and considered as one of the great philosophers
of his time; his earth-centered view dominated for almost
2,000 years.
• C E I L S P E ______________________6. An
astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical
object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured by passing
into the shadow of another body or by having another
body pass between it and the viewer.
• H S A W O D _______________________7. A dark (real
image) area where light from a light source is blocked by
an opaque object.
• RAETOSHTENSE
• _______________________8. A Greek philosopher who
computed the circumference of the Earth and who gave
the most accurate size during their time.
• TRERGRODAE
• M O I T O N _______________________9. An apparent
change in the movement of the planet through the sky. It is not
real in that the planet does not physically start moving
backwards in its orbit. It just appears to do so because of the
relative positions of the planet and Earth and how they are
moving around the Sun.
• WTINRE
• L O S I C T E S _____________________10. A moment when
the Sun's path in the sky is farthest south in the Northern
Hemisphere or farthest north in the Southern Hemisphere.
•MMUSRE
• L O S I C T E S _____________________11. The longest
day of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere it is in June,
while in the Southern Hemisphere it's in December.
•SHLEOICETNRIM
• ______________________12. The astronomical model in
which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the
center of the Solar System.
•TRSIMEGOENC
• _______________________13. Any theory of the
structure of the solar system (or the universe) in which
Earth is assumed to be at the center of it all.
• COLNIUAS
•SCOEPRNIUC
• _______________________14. He considered the sun as
the stationery center of the universe. He classified Earth
as a planet just like Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and
Saturn.
• LLIEAGO
• G I A L I L E ________________________15. He was the
greatest Italian scientist of the Renaissance. Due to the
telescope, he was able to discover and observe important
astronomical facts such as lunar craters, the phases of
the Venus, the moons of Jupiter, sun spots, and the sizes
of the stars.
ANSWERS
• 1. GREEK
• 2. PTOLEMIC MODEL
• 3. OBLATE SPHEROID
• 4. NORTH STAR
• 5. ARISTOTLE
• 6. ECLIPSE
• 7. SHADOW
• 8. ERATOSTHENES
• 9. RETROGRADE MOTION
• 10. WINTER SOLSTICE
• 11. SUMMER SOLSTICE
• 12. HELIOCENTRISM
• 13. GEOCENTRISM
• 14. NICOLAUS COPERNICUS
• 15. GALILEO GALILEI
 The Shape of the Earth is Round
In the tune of “The Wheels on the bus go round and round”
By: X-handi B. Fallarna
• The shape of the Earth is round, just round
• Round, just round
• Round, just round
• The shape of the Earth is round, just round
• All this time

• The Greek philosophers had thought it’s flat,

• Some thought it’s round, some thought it’s round
• The Greek philosophers had thought it’s flat,
• But they got it wrong!

• North Star, eclipse, and sailing ship,

• Moon’s shadow from Earth’s relationship
• These conclude that the Earth is round
• All this time!
Objectives
• 1. discuss the thoughts of philosophers
about the shape of the Earth;
• 2. describe the size of the Earth; and
• 3. realize the importance of the shape of
the Earth.
• Key Terms

• Oblate spheroid: the shape of the Earth. It has

bulging equator and squeezed poles.

• Solstice: either of the two times in the year, the

summer solstice and the winter solstice, when the
sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky
at noon, marked by the longest and shortest
days.
• Eclipse: an obscuring of the light from one
celestial body by the passage of another between
it and the observer or between it and its source of
illumination.
•
• Heliocentrism: the astronomical model in which
the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun.
•
• Geocentrism: any theory of the structure of the
solar system (or the universe) in which Earth is
assumed to be at the center of it all.
• Around 500 B.C.,
most Greeks believed that
the Earth was round, not flat. It was
Pythagoras and his pupils who were
first to propose a spherical Earth.
In 500 to 430 B.C.,
Anaxagoras further supported
Pythagoras' proposal through his
observations of the shadows that the Earth
cast on the Moon during a lunar eclipse. He
observed that during a lunar eclipse, the
Earth's shadow was reflected on the Moon's
surface. The shadow reflected was circular.
Around 340 B.C.,

Aristotle listed several arguments for

a spherical Earth which included the
positions of the North Star, the shape of
the Moon and the Sun, and the
disappearance of the ships when they sail
over the horizon.
• North Star
The North Star was believed to be at
a fixed position in the sky. However,
when the Greeks traveled to places
nearer the equator, like Egypt, they
noticed that the North Star is closer to
the horizon.
The Shape of the Sun and the Moon

Aristotle argued that if the Moon and

the Sun were both spherical, then
perhaps, the Earth was also spherical.
• Disappearing Ships

If the Earth was flat, then a ship traveling

away from an observer should become smaller
and smaller until it disappeared.
However, the Greeks observed that the ship
became smaller and then its hull disappeared first
before the sail as if it was being enveloped by the
water until it completely disappeared.
• The Size of the Spherical Earth
Ancient scholars tried to provide proof of a
spherical Earth and its circumference through
calculations. It was Eratosthenes who gave the
most accurate size during their time. While he was
working at the Library of Alexandria in Northern
Egypt, he received correspondence from Syene in
Southern Egypt which stated that a vertical object
did not cast any shadow at noontime during the
summer solstice.
• The Size of the Spherical Earth
But this was not the case in Alexandria
where, at noon time during the summer
solstice, a vertical object still casts a
shadow. These observations could only
mean that the Sun, during this time in
Alexandria, was not directly overhead.
Figure 1: Shows how Eratosthenes measured the circumference
of the Earth.
• Eratosthenes then determined the angle the
Sun made with the vertical direction by measuring
the shadow that a vertical stick cast.
He found out that in Alexandria, the Sun
makes an angle of 7.2° from the vertical while 0° in
Syene.
To explain the difference, he hypothesized
that the light rays coming from the sun are parallel,
and the Earth is curved.
• From his measurements, he computed the
circumference of the Earth to be
approximately 250 000 stadia (a stadium is
a unit of measurement used to describe the
size of a typical stadium at the time), about
40 000 kilometers.
 Greek astronomers:
Understanding of Heavenly Bodies

Anaxagoras
• Anaxagoras was able to explain what causes the
phases of the moon.
• According to him, the moon shone only by reflected
sunlight. Since it is a sphere, only half of it
illuminated at a time. This illuminated part that
is visible from the earth changes periodically.
Eudoxus
• Eudoxus proposed a system of fixed
spheres.
• He believed that the Sun, the moon, the
five known planets and the stars were
attached to these spheres which carried the
heavenly bodies while they revolved
around the stationary Earth.
Aristotle
• Aristotle was a student of Plato. For him,
the earth is spherical in shape since it
always casts a curved shadow when it
eclipses the moon.
• He also believed that the earth was the
center of the universe. The planets and
stars were concentric, crystalline spheres
centered on the earth.
Aristarchus
• Aristarchus is the very first Greek to profess the
heliocentric view. The word helios means sun; centric
means centered. This heliocentric view considered the
sun as the center of the universe. He learned that the sun
was many time farther than the moon and that it was
much larger than the earth.
• He also made an attempt to calculate the distance of the
sun and the moon by using geometric principles. He
based his calculations on his estimated diameters of the
earth and moon, and expressed distance in terms of
diameter. However, the measurements he got were very
small and there were a lot of observational errors.
Eratosthenes
• The first successful attempt to determine
the size of the earth was made by him. He
did this by applying geometric principles.
He observed the angles of the noonday sun
in two Egyptian cities that were almost
opposite each other- Syene (now Aswan) in
the south and Alexandria in the north. He
assumed they were in the same longitude.
Hipparchus
• Hipparchus is considered as the greatest of the
early Greek astronomers. He observed and
compared the brightness of 850 stars and
arranged them into order of brightness or
magnitude.
• He developed a method for predicting the times
of lunar eclipses to within a few hours. Aside from
this, he also measured the length of the year to
within minutes of the modern value.
Claudius Ptolemy
• He believed that the earth was the
center of the universe. His Ptolemic
Model claimed that the planets moved
in a complicated system of circles.
This geocentric model also became
known as the Ptolemic System.
• The Ptolemic Model
• Claudius Ptolemy developed a model that was able to
explain the observable motions of the planets.

Figure 2: Ptolemic Model showing geocentrism.

• According to the Ptolemic Mode, the sun, the
moon, and the other planets move in circular
orbits around the earth. However, if observed
night after night, these planets move slightly
eastward among the stars. At a certain point, the
planet appears to stop then moves in the
opposite direction for some time; after which it will
resume its eartward motion. This westward drift of
the planets is called retrograde motion.
• To justify his earth-centered model using
retrograde motion, he further explained that
the planets orbited on small circles, called
epicycles, revolving around large circles
called deferents.
 Matching Type. Directions: Match the Greek astronomers in column A with their
important findings in column B. Write the letter on the space provided before each
number.
• Column A Column B
• ___1. Hipparchus • A. He proposed a system of fixed spheres. He believed that the
sun, the moon, the five known planets and the stars were attached
• ___ 2. Aristarchus to these spheres.
• ___ 3. Eratosthenes • B. He was able to explain what causes the phases of the moon.
According to him, the moon shone only by reflected sunlight.
• ___ 4. Anaxagoras • C. The very first Greek to profess the heliocentric view. He learned
• ___ 5. Eudoxus that the sun was many times farther than the moon and it was
much larger than the earth.
• D. He made the first successful attempt to determine the size of the
earth. He did this by applying the geometric principle.
• E. He is considered as the greatest of the early Greek
astronomers. He observed the brightness of 850 stars and
arranged them into order of brightness or magnitude.
• F. He was a student of Plato. For him, the earth is spherical in
shape since it always casts a curved shadow when it eclipses the
moon.
 Directions: Write the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which of the following is the shape of the Earth according to ancient

Greeks?
a. cylinder b. octagon c. flat disc d. sphere
2. What is the shape of the Earth as described by modern astronomy?
a. ellipsoid b. oblate spheroid c. hyperboloid d. oblate paraloid
3. Which of the following ancient Greek philosophers computed for the
circumference of the Earth?
a. Anaxagoras b. Pythagoras c. Eratosthenes d. Aristotle
4. According to Erastothenes’ computations, what is the circumference of the
Earth?
a. 250,000 stadia b. 7.2 stadia c. 500 stadia d. 40,000 stadia
5. Which of the following is 250 000 stadia equal to?
a. 40,000 kilometers b. 40,000 miles c. 40,000 meters d. 40,000
inches
• 7. Which of the following describes the position of the North Star if you go
nearer the equator?
a. Closer to the horizon
b. Farther away from the horizon.
c. The North Star is fixed wherever you are on the Earth.
d. It disappears completely.
• 8. Which of the following can be observed of a cruising ship if the Earth is a
flat disc?

a. It will shrink then only the sail will be visible until it completely
disappears.
b. It will become bigger and bigger.
c. It will not change its size.
d. It will become smaller and smaller until it disappears.
9. During which time did Eratosthenes observe the shadows cast by a
vertical stick?
• a. noon time in summer solstice c. during a lunar eclipse
• b. noon time in winter solstice d. during a solar eclipse

10. According to Eratosthenes, which of the following explains why a

vertical stick casts a shadow in Alexandria but not in Syene?
• I. The Sun is directly overhead in Syene while in Alexandria, it is only
almost directly overhead.
• II. The light rays coming from the sun are parallel, and the Earth is
curved.
• III. The light rays coming from the sun are curved, and the Earth is flat.
• IV. The Sun is directly overhead in Alexandria while in Syene, it is only
almost directly overhead.
• a. I only b. I and II c. III and IV d. II and IV
11. Greek philosopher who gave the most accurate size of
the spherical earth during their time?
a. Eratosthenes c. Claudius Ptolemy
b. Anaxagoras d. Hipparchus

12. It is an astronomical model in which the Earth and

planets revolve around the Sun.

a. Geocentrism c. Solstice
b. Heliocentrism d. Eclipse
13. Any theory of the structure of the solar system (or the
universe) in which Earth is assumed to be at the center of it all.
a. Geocentrism b. Heliocentrism c. Solstice d. Eclipse

14. An obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the

passage of another between it and the observer or between it
and its source of illumination.
a. Geocentrism b. Heliocentrism c. Solstice d. Eclipse

15. Either of the two times in the year, the summer solstice and
the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest
point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest
days.
a. Geocentrism b. Heliocentrism c. Solstice d. Eclipse