The development and transmission of 248-day schemes for lunar motion in ancient astronomy

descriptionPublicationkeyboard_double_arrow_right Article 01 Jan 1983 English Publisher:Springer Science and Business Media LLCJournal:Archive for History of Exact Sciences, volume 29, pages 1-36 (issn: 0003-9519, eissn: 1432-0657,

Copyright policy )

Authors: Jones, Alexander;

doi: 10.1007/bf00535977

The development and transmission of 248-day schemes for lunar motion in ancient astronomy

- Summary
- Subjects
- Metrics

Abstract

Babylonian, Greek and Indian texts concerning the mathematical approximation of the periodically varying speed of the lunar motion are systematized and interpreted. Predicting lunar motion was essentially a problem of approximating a periodic zigzag deviation table at a quadratic level. The Babylonians applied arithmetical reasoning. Later the Greeks added a geometric approach. Original theories were modified in India and reached China.

Related Organizations

Brown University
United States

Keywords

History of Greek and Roman mathematics, History of Babylonian mathematics, History of astronomy and astrophysics, zigzag function, approximate lunar ephemeris

Impact byBIP!

	selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).	21
	popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.	Average
	influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).	Top 10%
	impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.	Average