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Ptolemy

Ptolemy

This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor: Peter Saundry

Ptolemy (c. 90-c. 170) was Greek philosopher who synthesized and extended Hipparchus's system of epicycles and eccentric circles to explain his geocentric theory of the solar system. Ptolemy believed the planets and Sun to orbit the Earth in the order of Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. This system became known as the Ptolemaic system and predicted the positions of the planets accurately enough for naked-eye observations. The fusion of Ptolemy's model with the cosmology and physics of Aristotle was adopted in the late antiquity and medieval Western world and defined the dominant view of the universe for over a millennium. Ptolemy also made important contributions to geography and cartography.

Citation

Cutler J. Cleveland (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Topic Editor) "Ptolemy". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth September 3, 2006; Last revised Date December 12, 2011; Retrieved May 22, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ptolemy>

The Author

Cutler J. Cleveland Cutler J. Cleveland  is Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, where he also is on the faculty of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. Professor Cleveland is Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy (Elsevier, 2004), winner of an American Library Association award, the Dictionary of Energy (Elsevier, 2005), Handbook of Energy (Elsevier, forthcoming), and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth.  He is the recipient of the Adelma ... (Full Bio)

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