The size of the Moon
In one of Aristarchus' books that did survive, he laid out the earliest known attempted calculations of the sizes and distances to the Sun and Moon.
From solar eclipses, where the Moon passes in front of the Sun, they realised that the Sun was further away. Aristarchus estimated that the size of the Moon was approximately one-third that of the Earth, based on the careful timing of lunar eclipses. He was surprisingly accurate in determining the ratio of the size of the Earth to the Moon. (the Moon has a diameter 0.27 times that of Earth).
51
121 reads
CURATED FROM
IDEAS CURATED BY
The idea is part of this collection:
Learn more about personaldevelopment with this collection
How to create a productive environment
The importance of self-care in productivity
How to avoid distractions
Related collections
Similar ideas to The size of the Moon
Phases of the Moon
We see different parts of the Moon light up at different times of the month. This is because the Moon is at different positions in its orbit around Earth relative to the Sun.
- A full Moon is when the Moon, Earth and Sun are lined up. The sunlight shines on the whole l...
The Moon and its effect on creatures
- Sand Hoppers: These are crustaceans that have two compasses (sun compass in their brain, moon compass in their antennae) that help them stay buried during the day and forage at night.
- Corals: The lunar timing helps corals in the Great Barrier Reef ...
The origin of Kamo’oalewa
And according to a new study in Nature, we may at last know how it was formed.
The moon’s been getting bombarded by space rocks for billions of years, resulting in all manner of lunar debris getting ejected into space (nearly ...
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
—
100+ Learning Journeys
—
Access to 200,000+ ideas
—
Access to the mobile app
—
Unlimited idea saving
—
—
Unlimited history
—
—
Unlimited listening to ideas
—
—
Downloading & offline access
—
—
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates