Ptolemy of Alexandria, the Influential Astronomer Essays -- Biography

Ptolemy of Alexandria, the Influential Astronomer Ptolemy of Alexandria was the most influential uranologist of theancient world. The books and theories Ptolemy developed served as a majorbasis for future tense astronomers. It was during the Renaissance period thathis work became thoroughly studied and revised. Ptolemy collected solely ancient knowledge of astronomy and geographyincluding it in his book Almagest roughly 140 A.D. It follows, he thenwrote a four volume astrological study known as the Tretrabiblos. Ptolemyclaimed that the scribes of Babylon had been instructed since 750 B.C tokeep detailed astronomical diaries. These diaries were compose for sevenhundred years on clay tablets. The tablets depicted night-sky events alongwith river level changes and weather phenomena. Modern archaeologists haveconfirmed the claim by unearthing Babylonian tablets recording observationsof Mars and Venus from that time period. Ptolemy used a method of consulting lists of lunar phases, andplanetary movements complied over many centuries to look for...