Aristarchus of Samos

Aristarchus of Samos (/ˌærəˈstɑːrkəs/; Greek: Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ Σάμιος, Aristarkhos ho Samios; c. 310 – c. 230 BC) was an ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician who presented the first known heliocentric model that placed the Sun at the center of the universe, with the Earth revolving around the Sun once a year and rotating about its axis once a day.

Aristarchus of Samos

c. 310 BC

Samos

c. 230 BC (aged around 80)

Alexandria,^[1] Ptolemaic Kingdom

Greek

He likely moved to Alexandria, and he was a student of Strato of Lampsacus, who later became the third head of the Peripatetic School in Greece. Strato didn't think he was correct, even when shown all of the evidence. According to Ptolemy, he observed the summer solstice of 280 BC.^[2] Along with his contributions to the heliocentric model, as reported by Vitruvius, he created two separate sundials: one that is a flat disc; and one hemispherical.^[3]

Aristarchus was influenced by the concept presented by Philolaus of Croton (c. 470 – 385 BC) of a fire at the center of the universe, but Aristarchus identified the "central fire" with the Sun and he arranged the other planets in their correct order of distance around the Sun.^[4]

Like Anaxagoras before him, Aristarchus suspected that the stars were just other bodies like the Sun, albeit farther away from Earth. His astronomical ideas were often rejected in favor of the geocentric theories of Aristotle and Ptolemy. Nicolaus Copernicus knew that Aristarchus had a 'moving Earth' theory, although it is unlikely that Copernicus was aware that it was a heliocentric theory.^[6]^[7]

Aristarchus estimated the sizes of the Sun and Moon as compared to Earth's size. He also estimated the distances from the Earth to the Sun and Moon. He is considered one of the greatest astronomers of antiquity along with Hipparchus.

Legacy[edit]

The lunar crater Aristarchus, the minor planet 3999 Aristarchus, and the telescope Aristarchos are named after him.

Aristarchus's inequality

(c. 276 – c. 194/195 BC), a Greek mathematician who calculated the circumference of the Earth and also the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

Eratosthenes

(c. 190 – c. 120 BC), a Greek mathematician who measured the radii of the Sun and the Moon as well as their distances from the Earth.

Hipparchus

(c. 135 – c. 51 BC), a Greek astronomer and mathematician who calculated the circumference of the Earth.

Posidonius

(1913). Aristarchus of Samos, the ancient Copernicus; a history of Greek astronomy to Aristarchus, together with Aristarchus's Treatise on the sizes and distances of the sun and moon : a new Greek text with translation and notes. London: Oxford University Press.

Heath, Sir Thomas

(1953) [1906]. A History of Astronomy from Thales to Kepler. New York: Dover Publications.

Dreyer, John Louis Emil

Carman, Christián C.; Buzón, Rodolfo P. (26 May 2023). . Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-86986-6.

Aristarchus of Samos: On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon: Greek Text, Translation, Analysis, and Relevant Scholia

Gomez, Alberto (2023). . Berlin: Peter Lang Verlag. ISBN 9783631892619.

Decoding Aristarchus

Stahl, William (1970). "Aristarchus of Samos". . Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 246–250. ISBN 0-684-10114-9.

Dictionary of Scientific Biography

Biography: JRASC, 75 (1981) 29

and First estimate of the Sun's distance from educational website From Stargazers to Starships

First estimate of the Moon's distance

Aristarchus of Samos, The Ancient Copernicus (

https://archive.org/details/aristarchusofsam00heatuoft

O'Connor, John J.; , "Aristarchus of Samos", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews

Robertson, Edmund F.

Archived 2012-05-15 at the Wayback Machine High resolution images of works by Aristarchus of Samos in .jpg and .tiff format.

Aristarchus of Samos