Ancient Astronomer's Work Found on Roman Statue

[Dover]

Ancient Astronomer's Work Found on Roman Statue

Tue Jan 11, 7:29 PM ET Science - Reuters


SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A Roman statue of Atlas -- the mythical titan who carried the heavens on his shoulders -- holds clues to the long-lost work of the ancient astronomer Hipparchus, an astronomical historian said on Tuesday.

The statue in question is known as the Farnese Atlas, a 7-foot tall marble work which resides in the Farnese Collection in the National Archeological Museum in Naples, Italy.


What makes it important to scientists is not the titan's muscular form but the globe he supports: carved constellations adorn its surface in exactly the locations Hipparchus would have seen in his day, suggesting that the sculptor based the globe on the ancient astronomer's star catalog, which no modern eyes have seen.


"There are really very few instances where lost ancient secrets or wisdom are ever actually found," said Bradley Schaefer of Louisiana State University. "Here is a real case where rather well-known lost ancient wisdom has been discovered."


Hipparchus, who flourished around 140-125 BC, is believed to have been one of the world's first path-breaking astronomers. Among other innovations, he put together the first comprehensive list of the hundreds of stars he observed, known as a star catalog...cont'd

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=3&u=/nm/20050112/sc_nm/space_statue_dc