Aristarchus Facts: All About The Greek Astronomer Revealed

Aristarchus of Samos was a visionary and pioneer in the field of astronomy!

Aristarchus was an Ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer who lived from about 310-230 BCE. Disliked during his own time, Aristarchus is now remembered as a visionary who had the knowledge to find out things about the universe that weren't even thought of!

He made several important contributions to astronomy, including the first recorded estimate of the size and distance of the sun. Aristarchus is also credited with being the first person to propose that the Earth rotates around its own axis.

Although most of his ideas were eventually discredited, he helped lay the groundwork for later astronomers like Copernicus and Galileo. They both knew of him through his written work!

One of the most interesting facts about Aristarchus is that his name means 'the best prince'!

Life Of Aristarchus

Aristarchus of Samos is one of the ancient Greek astronomers whose work has been lost in the tides of time. However, this does not stop us from understanding the fact that Aristarchus's work was of paramount importance.

• He was born during the Hellenistic age. This essentially means that he was born at a time when Greek culture was expanding into parts of the world such as India, the Middle East, and Egypt.
• At this time, the influence of the Catholic church was also unmatched.
• Not much is known about Aristarchus' early life and most of the knowledge that we have about this man is limited to hearsay and a singular surviving piece of work.
• It is only assumed that he was born in Samos, although there is no concrete evidence to prove this.
• He was the first person to study the sizes and distances of the Sun and moon with reference to Earth.
• There are some speculations that suggest that Aristarchus of Samos was one of the astronomers who were threatened with persecution for their theories.
• However, there is a completely contrasting school of thought which suggests that even though almost all of Aristarchus' theories were neglected and even rejected, he was not threatened with any persecution.
• He was the first person to ever propose a heliocentric model of the Solar System, which was revolutionary for his time but wasn't with the acclaim that it should have.
• He is also credited for the use of the correct geometric method in understanding the distances of the sun from the moon as well as from Earth.
• He also tried to study the size of the moon and the sun.
• In spite of the fact that most of his calculations were incorrect, we can hardly deny his contributions in the field of astronomy.
• In fact, famous ancient astronomers such as ancient Copernicus have credited Aristarchus's theory, which is a testament to the fact that he indeed was a genius of his own age.
• For this, an entire crater on the moon is named after Aristarchus of Samos.

Discoveries Of Aristarchus

Aristarchus is known for his many theories, although, the most pertinent of them was his theory that Earth revolves around the Sun. He was born in the Hellenistic age, during which, people were exceedingly reluctant to accept this heliocentric view. Hence, like many of the other great people, his theories were only acknowledged after his death.

• Aristarchus was way ahead of his time when it came to understanding the model of Earth and how it really worked.
• He is known to have been intrigued by the Sun and moon as well. For the same reason, he made some estimates regarding the size of the Sun and moon in comparison to Earth itself.
• While his estimates were not always accurate, we must acknowledge the fact that Aristarchus was working at a time when these measurements were tougher to find.
• The fact that he got close to the actual numbers in spite of the limitations put forth by the technical shortcomings of his time is truly commendable.
• Having said that, his knowledge of science and mathematics was enough to put him on the right track to find such measurements.
• Aristarchus is often remembered as the mathematician who was brilliant enough to at least use the correct geometrical methods in order to calculate the distance between celestial bodies - in spite of his failure in the venture.
• According to his studies, the Earth rotated on its own axis and revolved around the Sun.
• At his time, the popular and accepted concept was that the Earth was the center of the universe and that all the planets, the Sun, and the moon would revolve around it.
• This view was also accepted by the Catholic church, which added to the rigidity in people's minds when it came to accepting the heliocentric model.
• While Aristarchus of Samos was not faced with death threats, he is known to have been widely discredited for the sheer absurdness that people thought of his views.
• One of the most upsetting facts in this regard is that nearly none of his works that proposed such ideas have managed to survive through all these years.
• The texts in which he provided his points to support the theory would have been of much help in understanding where his 'radical' thoughts stemmed from, and which methods he used for validating them.
• In addition to theorizing that the planets and their moons revolved around the sun, he also tried to find the sizes and distances of celestial bodies in comparison to Earth itself.
• He is known to have been the first one to try to determine the radius of the moon through the lunar eclipse.
• He essentially used Earth's shadow in order to understand how big the moon is. His calculation, however, was quite incorrect.
• According to his estimations, the moon was to be around 50% larger as compared to the radius of Earth.
• This calculation was later confirmed to be quite wrong, as the size of the moon was found to be around 25% the size of Earth's radius.
• While we can still consider the measurement of the moon's size to be somewhat close, many astronomers have concluded that Aristarchus' estimation of the size of the Sun was also incorrect.
• He seems to have underestimated the grandeur of the central figure of our solar system!
• Another theory that Aristarchus came up with was that the Sun was not the only one of its kind in the universe.
• According to his studies, the universe was full of suns.
• He believed that the fixed stars that we see from the surface of Earth are nothing but suns that are far away in the universe.

What is Aristarchus known for?

Aristarchus' knowledge of the solar system was truly awe-inspiring. It is well known that this mathematician and astronomer was a genius, although the people of his own time did not share this opinion.

The astronomers that came after him, on the other hand, were highly appreciative of his understanding of the science of astronomy. They are known to have not only accepted his theories but also given him credit for coming up with the ideas.

• Aristarchus of Samos is most commonly remembered for his theory of heliocentrism, wherein he basically proposed that the sun was the center of the Solar System and that the planets and their moons revolved around it.
• He also said that the fixed stars that we understand the universe to be made up of are actually suns that are far away from our own solar system.
• In one of Archimedes' works known as 'The Sand Reckoner', the author addresses King Gelon.
• He also acknowledges that Aristarchus was the very first person to put forward a heliocentric view!
• In addition to this, Aristarchus of Samos is also known as the very first person who seemed to understand that not only did the Earth revolve around the Sun, but it also rotated on its own axis.
• The model of axial rotation, as well as the axial tilt, were not proven through developments in science much later!

What subjects did Aristarchus study?

Aristarchus was a brilliant mathematician and astronomer. His knowledge in both subjects was commendable, and the relation between the two fields of study also enabled him to find out facts about the universe that no one had tried to venture into before.

• In spite of his genius, he was infamous and discredited in his own time, which is the fate of many people who came up with ideas that hadn't been conceived before.
• Aristarchus was especially infamous because his ideas stood in stark contrast with those of Claudius Ptolemy.
• The most potent enemy that Aristarchus had to face was the Catholic church.
• Even though the church eventually had to make peace with a heliocentric view of the Solar System, this was not to happen whilst Aristarchus was still alive!