Book:Aristarchus of Samos/On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon
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Aristarchus of Samos: Περὶ μεγεθῶν καὶ ἀποστημάτων ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης
Published $\text {\text {c. $260$ BCE}}$
In English:
- On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon
Subject Matter
Contents
A deduction that the Sun lies about $18$ to $20$ times as far away from Earth as does the Moon.
His method was correct, but his measurements were inaccurate.
The actual value is more like $400$.
However, this was an improvement over the estimate of Eudoxus of Cnidus, who argued for $10$.
Sources
- 2008: Ian Stewart: Taming the Infinite ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $5$: Eternal Triangles: The origins of trigonometry