Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO
Published on: February 12, 2013
[The significance of Ptolemy's Almagest for its early readers]
1, 78, boulevard Arago, F-75013, Paris, France, alainguy.bernard@orange.fr.
Abstract:
The paper explores the historical reasons why Ptolemy's Almagest was cultivated in Antiquity as a legitimate part of ancient culture. It tries to elucidate first the precise nature of Ptolemy's project in the Almagest, its relation to ethics as well as to the particular conception that Ptolemy had of mathematics. It then proposes an explanation for the fact that this treatise, both in Ptolemy's period and afterwards, was studied within the milieu of ancient astrologers.
Related Concept Videos
Theorems of Pappus and Guldinus
For finding the surface area, consider a differential line element that generates a ring with surface area dA when revolved.
Theorem of Pappus
Theorems of Pappus and Guldinus: Problem Solving
Orders of Magnitude
The order of magnitude is simply a way of rounding numbers consistently to the nearest power of 10. This makes doing rough mental math...
Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion
Polish astronomer Nikolaus Copernicus put forth a theory that stated a heliocentric model for the solar system. According to this heliocentric theory, all the planets, including Earth, orbit the Sun in circular orbits.
On the other hand,...
Parseval's Theorem
Interestingly, Parseval's theorem also holds for the trigonometric form of the Fourier series, which expresses a...

