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The Babylonians' number system was sexagesimal, that is, it used a base of |
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Definition
60, like the number of arcminutes in a degree |
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Ecliptic longitude is measured |
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Definition
east from the vernal equinox along the ecliptic |
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Term
The use of the zigzag approximation in representing the variable motion in longitude was embodied in the |
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Jupiter tablet of occurrences of second station |
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Term
Kidinnu (later known as Cidenas) was the inventor of the |
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zigzag approximation for variable motion in longitude |
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The Moon's phase at a solar eclipse is |
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The eclipse seasons recur at intervals of |
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slightly less than half a year |
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Which of the following statements is true of the Babylonians at their most advanced? |
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Definition
they were able to predict lunar eclipses, including whether they would be total or partial and the degree |
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Term
The first of the Greeks to consider the Universe as an object for speculation regarding its nature was (as far as we know) |
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The object at the center of Philolaus's model of the Universe was the |
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The hippopede or figure-eight was introduced by Eudoxus to represent the |
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According to Aristotle's philosophy, the natural motion of everything in the sublunary (that is, terrestrial) part of the Universe is |
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Definition
vertical, either up for light elements (air,fire) or down for heavy elements (earth, water) |
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Term
The argument of fall was one of Aristotle's arguments |
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Definition
against the Earth's rotation |
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Term
Comets and meteors are phenomena in the upper level of Earth's atmosphere according to Aristotle because |
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Definition
they change, whereas everything in the superlunary region is immutable |
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Term
The first person to come up with a value (though erroneous) for the ratio of the Sun's distance from Earth to the Moon's was |
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Which of the following did Heraclides not advocate? |
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Definition
the Earth and the planets orbit the Sun |
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Term
The Earth's circumference was first determined, rather accurately, by |
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Definition
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Term
Precession, with all its effects on star positions, was first discovered by |
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Term
Hipparchus's model for the Sun, which was adopted by Ptolemy later, used |
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Definition
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Term
In the simplified Earth-centered epicyclic system we discussed in class, the deferent for a superior planet is identical in size to |
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Definition
that planet's orbit around the Sun |
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Term
In the Greek way of reckoning, an inferior planet's period of revolution around its epicycle is |
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Definition
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Term
The work that contained Ptolemy's ideas about the way the planets are actually arranged in space (as opposed to detailed mathematical models for each separately) was his |
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Ptolemy introduced the equant in order to better represent the variable motion in longitude. It became the most controversial feature of his system because |
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Definition
it violated the principle of uniform circular motion |
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Term
The term that applies to the direction towards Mecca for prayer in Islam is |
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Definition
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The term trepidation refers to a nonexistent |
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Definition
oscillation of the equinox around its average position in addition to precession |
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Term
The advance of the solar apogee was first incorporated in a zij by |
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Definition
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Term
The zij which was distinguished by its inclusion of observational data on eclipses and conjunctions was the |
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Term
The observatory that was founded by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi was the |
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The only star catalogue which used newly-measured star positions instead of rehashing Ptolemy's was produced at .. under the leadership of |
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Definition
Samarkand Observatory...Ulugh Beg |
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Term
The author of the Tractatus de Sphaera or Treatise on the Sphere, an early university textbook on astronomy, was |
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Definition
Sacrobosco, also known as John of Holywood |
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Term
The standard planetary tables in use in Europe for several centuries until after the time of Copernicus were the |
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Definition
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The first extensive (that is, over several decades) European series of astronomical observations of high quality for the time was made by |
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Term
The instrument that could be used for directly measuring the ecliptic coordinates of a star or planet was the |
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Definition
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Term
The instrument that could be used either to measure the angular separation between two objects on the sky or the altitude of an object was the |
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Definition
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The approximate date of Ptolemy is |
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Definition
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Term
he approximate date of the translation of the Almagest into Arabic is |
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Definition
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Term
Bernhard Walther, who made the first extensive (that is, over several decades) European series of high-quality astronomical observations (for the time), was a pupil of |
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Definition
Regiomontanus, also known as Johannes Mueller |
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Term
The instrument that could be used for directly measuring the equatorial coordinates of a star or planet was the |
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Definition
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Term
The instrument that was used to measure precisely the altitude of a star or planet when it crosses the celestial meridian was the |
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Definition
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The approximate date of Hipparchus is |
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The approximate date of Aristotle is |
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Definition
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Term
The observatory that was founded by Taqi al-Din was the short-lived |
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Term
The Hakemite Tables, which were distinguished by the inclusion of observational data on eclipses and conjunctions, were the work of |
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Definition
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Term
Trepidation, a supposed oscillation of the equinoxes around their average positions in addition to the steady westwards motion of precession, was introduced by |
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Definition
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Term
The term that applies to the thin crescent Moon that marks the beginning of the month in the Islamic calendar is |
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Definition
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Term
Ptolemy introduced the equant in order to better represent the variable motion in longitude. It became the most controversial feature of his system because |
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Definition
it violated the principle of uniform circular motion |
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Term
The work that contained Ptolemy's detailed mathematical models for the planets (including the Sun and Moon) was the |
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Definition
Matematike syntaxis or Mathematical Compilation, later known as the Almagest |
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Term
In the simplified Earth-centered epicyclic system we discussed in class, the epicycle for an inferior planet is identical in size to |
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Definition
that planet's orbit around the sun |
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Term
Hipparchus's model for the Sun, which was adopted by Ptolemy later, used |
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Definition
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Term
Precession, with all its effects on star positions, was first discovered by Hipparchus |
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Definition
by comparing his star catalogue with an earlier one |
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Term
The Earth's circumference was first determined, rather accurately, by |
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Definition
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Term
The idea that Mercury and Venus orbit the Sun while everything else, including the Sun, orbits the Earth was advocated by |
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Definition
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Term
The first person to come up with values based on observation for the ratio of the Sun's and Moon's sizes to the Earth's was |
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Definition
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Term
The argument of parallax was an argument of Aristotle's |
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Definition
against the Earth's revolution around the Sun |
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Term
According to Aristotle's philosophy, the natural motion of everything in the superlunary (that is, celestial) part of the Universe is |
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Definition
circular at constant speed, that is, uniform circular motion |
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Term
The hippopede was inadequate to represent the apparent motion of which of the following planets? |
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Definition
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Term
The concept of "music of the spheres" was associated with the school of |
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Term
Which of the following was used by the Babylonians to approximate the variable motion in longitude, for example of the Sun? |
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Definition
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Term
Ecliptic latitude is measured |
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Definition
north or south of the ecliptic |
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Term
Which of the following does not go back to The Babylonians' sexagesimal number system? |
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Definition
the number of hours in a day |
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Term
Which of the following was used by the Babylonians to approximate the motion in latitude of the Moon when it is near the nodes? |
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Definition
the "broken" zigzag approximation |
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Term
Lunar eclipses can only occur when the Moon's phase is |
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Definition
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Term
The Babylonians' discovery of the saros cycle, exemplified in the Saros-Canon, enabled them to |
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Definition
forecast when a lunar eclipse might occur |
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Term
The Counter-Earth was a feature of the cosmology associated with the school of |
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Definition
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Term
The hippopede was introduced by which of the following to represent retrograde motion? |
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Definition
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Term
According to Aristotle's philosophy, the natural motion of everything in the sublunary (that is, terrestrial) part of the Universe is |
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Definition
vertical, either up for light elements (air,fire) or down for heavy elements (earth, water) |
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Term
Which of the following advocated a heliocentric model for the Universe? |
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Definition
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Term
The idea that the daily motion of Sun, Moon, planets, and fixed stars was caused by the Earth's rotation was suggested by |
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Definition
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Term
The Earth's circumference was first determined, rather accurately, by |
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Definition
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Term
The first reasonably close value for the Moon's geocentric parallax (and the first distance of a celestial body) was obtained by |
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Definition
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Term
In the modern way of reckoning (with respect to the fixed stars), a superior planet's period of revolution around its epicycle is |
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Definition
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Term
The Ilkhanic Tables were the work of which observatory? |
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Definition
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Term
Which of the following instruments could not measure the altitude of a star or planet at any azimuth but rather was restricted to only two? |
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Term
The approximate date of Aristarchus is |
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Term
Who was the author of the university textbook on astronomy entitled (in English) Theory of the Planets? |
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Definition
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Term
he Alfonsine Tables, which became the standard planetary tables in use in Europe for several centuries until after the time of Copernicus, were supposedly produced in what is the modern country of |
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Definition
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Term
Which of the following statements about Copernicus's work is not correct? |
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Definition
His models were much simpler than the Ptolemaic ones. |
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Term
Rheticus was the person who |
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Definition
persuaded Copernicus to write On the Revolutions |
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Term
he significance of Tycho's measurements of the "new star" of 1572 at that time was that |
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Definition
they showed that Aristotle was wrong about the superlunary region never changing |
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Term
Which of the following was not one of the innovations introduced into observational astronomy by Tycho? |
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Definition
the first accurate pendulum clock |
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Term
Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion (the first as we count today) states that |
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Definition
a planet's orbit is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus |
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Term
The size of an elliptical orbit is given by its |
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Definition
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Term
hich of the following of Kepler's works presented for the first time his first two laws of planetary motion? |
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Definition
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Term
The first set of planetary tables that was based on an essentially correct theory of the planets' orbital motions was the |
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Definition
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Term
The approximate date of Copernicus is |
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Definition
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Term
One of the earliest zijes, the earliest still extant, was produced by which of the following scholars at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad? |
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Definition
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Term
A moveable ecliptic, a fixed ecliptic, and a point that connects the two to make the vernal equinox oscillate back and forth over a period of several thousand years (and also change the obliquity) were the elements of which of the following? |
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Definition
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Term
The date of Easter is fixed by rule on |
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Definition
a combination of the solar cycle (tropical year), lunar cycle (synodic month), and day of the week |
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Term
Nicole Oresme of the University of Paris pointed out in the Middle Ages that Aristotle’s argument against the Earth’s rotation could be refuted using the newly-introduced concept of |
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Definition
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Term
Georg Peurbach’s lectures on the Ptolemaic system of planetary motions (with some improvements of his own) were turned into the most widely used university text on the subject by Regiomontanus. Its title was |
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Definition
New Theory of the Planets |
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Term
Which of the following instruments was used for measuring the angular separation between objects? |
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Definition
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Term
The instrument that was used either to correct the altitude of Polaris to get the observer’s latitude or to tell the time of night was the |
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Definition
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