Timocharis of Alexandria

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Timocharis of Alexandria (* around 320 BC ; † 260 BC ) was a Greek astronomer and philosopher , probably born in Alexandria . He was a contemporary of Euclid . The lunar crater Timocharis was named after him.

Around 300 BC He created the first star catalog . Over 150 years later, Hipparchus compared his own catalog of stars with that of Timocharis and discovered that the geographic longitude of the stars had changed over time, which led him to determine the first value of the precession of the equinoxes .

As the first known astronomer, he made a record of observing Mercury . In addition, he has four recorded astronomical events in connection with the Kallippian cycle , which he dated precisely in both the Attic and the ancient Egyptian calendar .

literature

  • Alexander Jones: Calendrica I: New Callippic Dates . In: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Vol. 129 . Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 2000, pp. 141–158.
  • Alexander Jones: Astronomical Papyri from Oxyrhynchus : (P. Oxy. 4133-4300a); Vol. I and II . American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia 1999, ISBN 0-8716-9233-3

Remarks

  1. ↑ The events relate to the years 295, 294 and 283 BC. Chr.
personal data
SURNAME Timocharis of Alexandria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Alexandrian astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH around 320 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH unsure: Alexandria
DATE OF DEATH 260 BC Chr.