← Explore on the interactive map
Babylonian astronomy
A systematic tradition of astronomical observation and calendrical computation developed in the city-state of Babylon in Mesopotamia, with observatio…
Timeline
- c. -1000–-700Babylon · MesopotamiaPriest-astronomers continuously observed the movements of the sun, moon, and planets at institutions such as the temple of Marduk, recording conjunctions, oppositions, and eclipses on cuneiform tablets, forming searchable astronomical archives that laid the foundation for predictive astronomy.
- c. -700–-500Uruk · MesopotamiaAstronomers precisely determined the lengths of the synodic month and tropical year, used arithmetic progressions to predict planetary positions, and divided the zodiac into twelve equal sectors; documents such as Venus observation tables show predictive accuracy within a few degrees.
Sources
- A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy — Otto Neugebauer (1975)
- Babylonian Planetary Omens and Their Relationship to the History of Astronomy — Asger Aaboe (1970)