De Sphaera Mundi, a short and rather easy to read pamphlet that was used as the basis for astronomy and geography from the 1200’s well into the 1500’s and 1600’s (and even later by some people).  See what your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents thought that the universe was like!

It’s fascinating to see how incredibly logical and well-reasoned, and yet how utterly wrong, it is about so many things.  As well as how much it got right; it really shows how the notion of flat Earth wasn’t seriously held, even when Columbus was doing his sailing around in 1492.

Accipiter - 15 April 2013 09:39 PM

As well as how much it got right; it really shows how the notion of flat Earth wasn’t seriously held, even when Columbus was doing his sailing around in 1492.

I remember seeing a documentary that suggested that this was the case for centuries before that. The simple argument for this was the way sailors must’ve seen the top bits of land appearing in the distance while seeing it appear to “rise out of the water” as they got closer. So by that that observation it is surmised they must have known the Earth is not flat.

Having just typed this I’m wondering if I’ve mentioned this before on the MOH Forums. Getting old is a bit frightening at times.

And in addition, based on what was scientifically available then, all those centuries ago, I wonder now, based on what our own science and logic tells us, how wrong we too may also be at this point.  Because I do believe there is probably far more that we cannot see or discern even with what we have learned mathematically, logically, scientifically and technically yet we look at the past measures as foolish and even laughable or frightening.  Perhaps our own maps and measures will appear as foiled by our future offspring.

Well, knowing that the earth and moon are spheres isn’t hard to prove. The shadow of the earth upon the moon during a lunar eclipse is of a sort that can only be created by a sphere projecting a shadow onto another sphere. With accurate enough measurements, you can also prove the sun is a sphere, though oddly there was a lot less controversy about that one.

Robin Bobcat - 17 April 2013 01:20 PM

Well, knowing that the earth and moon are spheres isn’t hard to prove. The shadow of the earth upon the moon during a lunar eclipse is of a sort that can only be created by a sphere projecting a shadow onto another sphere. With accurate enough measurements, you can also prove the sun is a sphere, though oddly there was a lot less controversy about that one.

That is probably only because no one has gotten close enough to sail off the edge.