Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave
I wonder how early in mans history humans could predict an eclipse.
|
the earliest eclipse predicting device is the "Antikythera Mechanism" which is described as the first mechanical computer - Ancient Greece around 200 BC (calculations predicting eclipses even predate the Antikythera Mechanism)
This device could predict eclipses, model planetary motion (5 planets known at the time) etc.
An astonishing mechanism for that time that used gears and levers and was about the size of a shoe box. It could also predict the direction and color of the shadow as the eclipse occurred.
http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/...68.preview.jpg
https://giahorary.files.wordpress.co...el-frontal.jpg