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It is certainly not, often it is a bit of quick-n-dirty estimate from known nearby measured points. assuming that every point on earth with stated elevation, is a precise measure produced from a geosurvey. geometry) that applies only to a perfect sphere, with a perfectly even/uniform surface, failing to account (or correct) for the ‘bumps and dips’ or a slightly elliptical spheroid. They used curves to trace the position and velocity of moving objects.īut now scientists believe the Babylonians developed this technique around 350 BC.Īs near as I can tell, not having spent dozens of hours examining the claims or arguments of the flat-earthers, is that most of the error in their maths or argument stem from three flawed or erroneous assumptions or premise: It had been thought that complex geometry was first used by scholars in Oxford and Paris in medieval times. “And they did this over a very long period of time, over centuries.”īut this latest research shows they were also way ahead when it came to maths. “They wrote reports about what they saw in the sky,” Prof Ossendrijver told the BBC World Service’s Science in Action programme. The civilisation emerged in about 1,800 BC.Ĭlay tablets engraved with their Cuneiform writing system have already shown these people were advanced in astronomy. The Ancient Babylonians once lived in what is now Iraq and Syria. It is completely fundamental to physics, and all branches of science use this method.” Its author, Prof Mathieu Ossendrijver, from the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, said: “I wasn’t expecting this. Previously, the origins of this technique had been traced to the 14th Century.
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Research shows that the Ancient Babylonians were using geometrical calculations to track Jupiter across the night sky. Sophisticated geometry – the branch of mathematics that deals with shapes – was being used at least 1,400 years earlier than previously thought, a study suggests. It seems some were way ahead of the game centuries before the setbacks of the dark ages! On we go to the top 10 ways to know the Earth is unequivocally, absolutely, positively, 100% not flat!Ĭontinue reading by clicking the name of the source below. You don’t need to denounce all science and knowledge and believe in a kooky conspiracy theory to enjoy some historical factoids about humanity’s quest for space. But the history of our species’ intellectual pursuit is important and interesting, and it’s very much well worth writing about. went on a Twitter rant on the topic.) Phil claims it’s ridiculous to even bother rebutting the Flat Earth Society – and I tend to agree.
#SKYCHART JAN 31 HOW TO#
I’ve had a few ideas on how to do that, but recently got an interesting incentive, when Phil Plait, The Bad Astronomer, wrote about a recently published BBC article about “The Flat Earth” society. Humanity has known the Earth to be round for a few millenia and I’ve been meaning to show more methods that prove the world is not flat. Photo credit: NASA/Samantha Cristoforetti