What People Thought About the Moon (62)

Introduction

The following excerpts from “Modern Mysteries of the Moon” by Vincent S. Foster show how the Moon was looked upon in the past by the people’s of the Earth. I find it quite interesting how the way we look at the Moon was changed over time, and there is still much to know.

Much Like Earth

“Some Greek philosophers believed that the Moon was a world much like Earth. In about A. D. 100, Plutarch even suggested that people lived on the Moon. The Greeks also apparently believed that the dark areas of the Moon were seas, while the bright regions were land.”

Moon and Sun Orbit the Earth

“In about A. D. 150 Ptolemy , a Greek astronomer who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, said that the Moon was Earth’s nearest neighbour in space. He thought that both the Moon and the Sun orbited Earth. Ptolemy’s views survived for more than 1300 years “

Correct View Moon Revolves with Earth Round the Sun

“But by the early 1500s, the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus had developed the correct view—Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun , and the Moon orbits Earth.”

Galileo

“The Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo wrote the first scientific description of the Moon, based on his observations with a telescope. In 1609, Galileo described a rough, mountainous surface.

This description was quite different from what was commonly believed—that the Moon was smooth. Galileo noted that the light regions were rough and hilly and the dark regions were smoother plains. Galileo even sketched the Moon!”

End (62).