Post by edward on Sept 24, 2015 15:36:52 GMT
Kings Dethroned
History of the Flat Earth Theory, part 1
by Gerard Hickson
Chapter One
WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG
THREE thousand years ago men believed the
earth was supported on gigantic pillars. The
sun rose in the east every morning, passed
overhead, and sank in the west every evening ; then
it was supposed to pass between the pillars under the
earth during the night, to re-appear in the east again
next morning.
This idea of the universe was upset by Pythagoras
some five hundred years before the birth of Christ,
when he began to teach that the earth was round like
a ball, with the sun going round it daily from east to
west; and this theory was already about four hundred
years old when Hipparchus, the great Greek scientist,
took it up and developed it in the second century, b .c .
Hipparchus may be ranked among the score or so
of the greatest scientists who have ever lived. He
was the inventor of the system of measuring the
distance to far off objects by triangulation, or trigonometry,
which is used by our surveyors at the present
day, and which is the basis of all the methods of
measuring distance which are used in modern
astronomy. Using this method of his own invention,
he measured from point to point on the surface of
the earth, and so laid the foundation of our present
systems of geography, scientific map-making and
navigation.
It would be well for those who are disposed to
under-estimate the value of new ideas to consider
how much the world owes to the genius of Hipparchus,
and to try to conceive how we could have made
progress— as we know it— without him.
Triangulation
The principles of triangulation are very simple, but
because it will be necessary— as I proceed— to show
how modern astronomers have departed from them,
I will explain them in detail.
Every figure made up of three connected lines
is a tri— or three-angle, quite regardless of the
length of any of its sides.
The triangle differs from all other shapes or
figures in this ;— that the value of its three
angles, when added together, admits of absolutely
no variation ; they always equal 180 degrees; while
— on the other hand— all other figures contain angles
of 360 degrees or more. The triangle alone contains
180 degrees, and no other figure can be used for
measuring distance. There is no alternative whatever,
and therein lies its value.
It follows, then, that if we know the value of any
two of the angles in a triangle we can readily find the
value of the third, by simply adding together the two
known angles and subtracting the result from 180.
The value of the third angle is necessarily the remainder.
Thus in our example (diagram 2) an angle
of 90 degrees plus an angle of 60 equals 150, which
diagram 2 shows that the angle at the distant object
— or apex of the triangle—must be 30.
Now if we know the length of the base-line A— B,
in feet, yards, kilometres or miles, (to be ascertained
by actual measurement), and also know the value of
the two angles which indicate the direction of a distant
object as seen from A. and B., we can readily complete
the triangle and so find the length of its sides. In
Base- line this way we can measure the height of a
tree or church steeple from the ground level, or find
the distance to a ship or lighthouse from the shore.
The reader will perceive that to obtain any measurement
by triangulation it is absolutely necessary to
have a base-line, and to know its length exactly. It is
evident, also, that the length of the base-line must bear
a reasonable proportion to the dimensions of the triangle
intended; that is to say,— that the greater the distance
of the object under observation the longer the base-line
should be in order to secure an accurate measurement.
A little reflection will now enable the reader to
realize the difficulties which confronted Hipparchus
when he attempted to measure the distance to the stars.
It was before the Roman Conquest, when the
geography of the earth was but little known, and
there were none of the rapid means of travelling and
communication which are at our disposal today.
Moreover, it was in the very early days of astronomy,
when there were few— if any— who could have helped
Hipparchus in his work, while if he was to make a
successful triangulation to any of the stars it was
essential that he should have a base-line thousands of
miles in length, with an observer at each end; both
taking observations to the same star at precisely the
same second of time.
The times in which he lived did not provide the
conveniences which were necessary for his undertaking,
the conditions were altogether impossible, and
so it is not at all surprising that he failed to get any
triangulation to the stars. As a result he came to the
conclusion that they must be too far off to be measured,
and said “ the heavenly bodies are infinitely distant.”
Such was the extraordinary conclusion arrived at
by Hipparchus, and that statement of his lies at the
root of astronomy, and has led its advocates into an
amazing series of blunders from that day to this.
The whole future of the science of astronomy was
affected by Hipparchus when he said "the heavenly
bodies are infinitely distant,” and now, when I say
that it is not so, the fate of astronomy again hangs in
the balance. It is a momentous issue which will be
decided in due course within these pages.
The next astronomer of special note is Sosigenes,
who designed the Julian Calendar in the reign of
Caesar. He saw no fault in the theories of Hipparchus,
but handed them on to Ptolemy, an Egyptian
astronomer of very exceptional ability, who lived in
the second century a .d .
Taking up the theories of his great Greek predecessor
after three hundred years, Ptolemy accepted
them without question as the work of a master ; and
developed them. Singularly gifted as he was to carry
on the work of Hipparchus, his genius was of a different
order, for while the Greek was the more original thinker
and inventor the Egyptian was the more accomplished
artist in detail; and the more skilful in the
art of teaching. Undoubtedly he was eminently fitted
to be the disciple of Hipparchus, and yet for that very
reason he was the less likely to suspect, or to discover,
any error in the master’s work.
In the most literal sense he carried on that work,
built upon it, elaborated it, and established the
Ptolemaic System of astronomy so ably that it stood
unchallenged and undisputed for fourteen hundred years;
and during all those centuries the accepted theory of the
universe was that the earth was stationary, while the
sun, moon, stars and planets revolved around it daily.
Having accepted the theories of Hipparchus in the
bulk, it was but natural that Ptolemy should fail to
discover the error I have pointed out, though even
had it been otherwise it would have been as difficult
for him to make a triangulation to the stars in the
second century a .d., as it had been for the inventor
of triangulation himself three hundred years earlier.
However, it is a fact that he allowed the theory that
"the heavenly bodies are infinitely distant ” to
remain unquestioned; and that was an error of
omission which was ultimately to bring about the
downfall of his own Ptolemaic system of astronomy.
History of the Flat Earth Theory, part 1
by Gerard Hickson
Chapter One
WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG
THREE thousand years ago men believed the
earth was supported on gigantic pillars. The
sun rose in the east every morning, passed
overhead, and sank in the west every evening ; then
it was supposed to pass between the pillars under the
earth during the night, to re-appear in the east again
next morning.
This idea of the universe was upset by Pythagoras
some five hundred years before the birth of Christ,
when he began to teach that the earth was round like
a ball, with the sun going round it daily from east to
west; and this theory was already about four hundred
years old when Hipparchus, the great Greek scientist,
took it up and developed it in the second century, b .c .
Hipparchus may be ranked among the score or so
of the greatest scientists who have ever lived. He
was the inventor of the system of measuring the
distance to far off objects by triangulation, or trigonometry,
which is used by our surveyors at the present
day, and which is the basis of all the methods of
measuring distance which are used in modern
astronomy. Using this method of his own invention,
he measured from point to point on the surface of
the earth, and so laid the foundation of our present
systems of geography, scientific map-making and
navigation.
It would be well for those who are disposed to
under-estimate the value of new ideas to consider
how much the world owes to the genius of Hipparchus,
and to try to conceive how we could have made
progress— as we know it— without him.
Triangulation
The principles of triangulation are very simple, but
because it will be necessary— as I proceed— to show
how modern astronomers have departed from them,
I will explain them in detail.
Every figure made up of three connected lines
is a tri— or three-angle, quite regardless of the
length of any of its sides.
The triangle differs from all other shapes or
figures in this ;— that the value of its three
angles, when added together, admits of absolutely
no variation ; they always equal 180 degrees; while
— on the other hand— all other figures contain angles
of 360 degrees or more. The triangle alone contains
180 degrees, and no other figure can be used for
measuring distance. There is no alternative whatever,
and therein lies its value.
It follows, then, that if we know the value of any
two of the angles in a triangle we can readily find the
value of the third, by simply adding together the two
known angles and subtracting the result from 180.
The value of the third angle is necessarily the remainder.
Thus in our example (diagram 2) an angle
of 90 degrees plus an angle of 60 equals 150, which
diagram 2 shows that the angle at the distant object
— or apex of the triangle—must be 30.
Now if we know the length of the base-line A— B,
in feet, yards, kilometres or miles, (to be ascertained
by actual measurement), and also know the value of
the two angles which indicate the direction of a distant
object as seen from A. and B., we can readily complete
the triangle and so find the length of its sides. In
Base- line this way we can measure the height of a
tree or church steeple from the ground level, or find
the distance to a ship or lighthouse from the shore.
The reader will perceive that to obtain any measurement
by triangulation it is absolutely necessary to
have a base-line, and to know its length exactly. It is
evident, also, that the length of the base-line must bear
a reasonable proportion to the dimensions of the triangle
intended; that is to say,— that the greater the distance
of the object under observation the longer the base-line
should be in order to secure an accurate measurement.
A little reflection will now enable the reader to
realize the difficulties which confronted Hipparchus
when he attempted to measure the distance to the stars.
It was before the Roman Conquest, when the
geography of the earth was but little known, and
there were none of the rapid means of travelling and
communication which are at our disposal today.
Moreover, it was in the very early days of astronomy,
when there were few— if any— who could have helped
Hipparchus in his work, while if he was to make a
successful triangulation to any of the stars it was
essential that he should have a base-line thousands of
miles in length, with an observer at each end; both
taking observations to the same star at precisely the
same second of time.
The times in which he lived did not provide the
conveniences which were necessary for his undertaking,
the conditions were altogether impossible, and
so it is not at all surprising that he failed to get any
triangulation to the stars. As a result he came to the
conclusion that they must be too far off to be measured,
and said “ the heavenly bodies are infinitely distant.”
Such was the extraordinary conclusion arrived at
by Hipparchus, and that statement of his lies at the
root of astronomy, and has led its advocates into an
amazing series of blunders from that day to this.
The whole future of the science of astronomy was
affected by Hipparchus when he said "the heavenly
bodies are infinitely distant,” and now, when I say
that it is not so, the fate of astronomy again hangs in
the balance. It is a momentous issue which will be
decided in due course within these pages.
The next astronomer of special note is Sosigenes,
who designed the Julian Calendar in the reign of
Caesar. He saw no fault in the theories of Hipparchus,
but handed them on to Ptolemy, an Egyptian
astronomer of very exceptional ability, who lived in
the second century a .d .
Taking up the theories of his great Greek predecessor
after three hundred years, Ptolemy accepted
them without question as the work of a master ; and
developed them. Singularly gifted as he was to carry
on the work of Hipparchus, his genius was of a different
order, for while the Greek was the more original thinker
and inventor the Egyptian was the more accomplished
artist in detail; and the more skilful in the
art of teaching. Undoubtedly he was eminently fitted
to be the disciple of Hipparchus, and yet for that very
reason he was the less likely to suspect, or to discover,
any error in the master’s work.
In the most literal sense he carried on that work,
built upon it, elaborated it, and established the
Ptolemaic System of astronomy so ably that it stood
unchallenged and undisputed for fourteen hundred years;
and during all those centuries the accepted theory of the
universe was that the earth was stationary, while the
sun, moon, stars and planets revolved around it daily.
Having accepted the theories of Hipparchus in the
bulk, it was but natural that Ptolemy should fail to
discover the error I have pointed out, though even
had it been otherwise it would have been as difficult
for him to make a triangulation to the stars in the
second century a .d., as it had been for the inventor
of triangulation himself three hundred years earlier.
However, it is a fact that he allowed the theory that
"the heavenly bodies are infinitely distant ” to
remain unquestioned; and that was an error of
omission which was ultimately to bring about the
downfall of his own Ptolemaic system of astronomy.