                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2024 March 30

                     Medieval Astronomy from Melk Abbey
   Image Credit: Paul Beck (Univ. Vienna), Georg Zotti (Vienna Inst. Arch.
                                  Science)
                 Copyright: Library of Melk Abbey, Frag. 229

   Explanation: Discovered by accident, this manuscript page provides
   graphical insight to astronomy in medieval times, before the
   Renaissance and the influence of Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho de Brahe,
   Johannes Kepler, and Galileo. The intriguing page is from lecture notes
   on astronomy compiled by the monk Magister Wolfgang de Styria before
   the year 1490. The top panels clearly illustrate the necessary geometry
   for a lunar (left) and solar eclipse in the Earth-centered Ptolemaic
   system. At lower left is a diagram of the Ptolemaic view of the Solar
   System with text at the upper right to explain the movement of the
   planets according to Ptolemy's geocentric model. At the lower right is
   a chart to calculate the date of Easter Sunday in the Julian calendar.
   The illustrated manuscript page was found at historic Melk Abbey in
   Austria.

                      Tomorrow's picture: eclipse below
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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