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World History

Voltaire2

(14,703 posts)

2. The Babylonians would like a word.

Reply to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)

Tue May 28, 2024, 06:53 AM

May 2024

Last edited Tue May 28, 2024, 08:28 AM - Edit history (1)

Thales likely learned of the Saros Cycle from Babylonian sources. They had been predicting eclipses for a century or two before Thales.

THE SAROS AND THE ANCIENTS
Babylonian astronomers discovered the saros cycle around the 7th or 8th century B.C. They were keen observers and kept meticulous records of astronomical events for hundreds of years on clay tablets. This allowed them to recognize the saros pattern in both solar and lunar eclipses. They used the saros to predict future eclipses, which they also recorded on clay tablets.

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/how-did-the-ancients-predicted-eclipses-the-saros-cycle/

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Highlight:

On this day in 585 BC, the eclipse of Thales, the earliest event of which the precise date is known, occurred. [View all] mahatmakanejeeves May 2024 OP

Serious WOW!! no_hypocrisy May 2024 #1

The Babylonians would like a word. Voltaire2 May 2024 #2

Science---cool. Timeflyer May 2024 #3