Biography of ptolemy
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Egypt
Alexandria, Egypt
Biography
One of the most influential Greek astronomers and geographers of his time, Ptolemy propounded the geocentric theory in a form that prevailed for years. However, of all the ancient Greek mathematicians, it fryst vatten fair to say that his work has generated more discussion and argument than any other. We shall discuss the arguments below for, depending on which are correct, they portray Ptolemy in very different lights. The arguments of some historians show that Ptolemy was a mathematician of the very top rank, arguments of others show that he was no more than a superb expositor, but far worse, some even claim that he committed a crime against his fellow scientists by betraying the ethics and integrity of his profession.•
The story of Ptolemy, the ancient astronomer who shaped our view of the cosmos for centuries
Claudius Ptolemaeus (circa AD –), better known as Ptolemy, was a Greco-Roman astronomer, mathematician, geographer and cartographer.
He was a citizen of Alexandria, Egypt, in the 2nd century AD.
Although his writings influenced astronomy for over a millennium – not always correctly – very little is known about his life.
Ptolemy's Almagest and geocentrism
Ptolemy devoted most of his time and effort to astronomy.
His first major work was the volume Almagest, meaning ‘the greatest’ and known to him as the Mathematike Syntaxis (The Mathematical Collection).
It was a synthesis of all the results obtained by Greek astronomy up to then, especially the earlier findings of Hipparchus, providing a model for astronomical functions and movements of heavenly bodies.
In the Almagest, he introduced the geocentric system, arguing that Earth was stationary at the centre of a large crystalli
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Claudius Ptolemy: Astronomer and Geographer from Ancient Egypt
The science of astronomy is one of humanity's oldest sciences. No one knows quite when the first people looked up and began to study the sky, but we do know that very early people began noting the sky thousands of years in the past. Written astronomical records were recorded in ancient times, often on tablets or walls or in artwork. That was when observers began charting what they saw in the sky. They didn't always understand what they observed, but realized that the sky's objects move in periodic and predictable ways.
Claudius Ptolemy (often called Claudius Ptolemaeus, Ptolomaeus, Klaudios Ptolemaios, and simply Ptolemeus) was one of the earliest of these observers. He systematically charted the sky to help predict and explain the motions of the planets and stars. He was a scientist and philosopher who lived in Alexandria, Egypt nearly 2, years ago. Not only was he an astronomer, but he also studied geo