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Aristarchus of Samos

British  

noun

  1. 3rd century bc , Greek astronomer who anticipated Copernicus in advancing the theory that the earth revolves around the sun

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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Astronomy journalist Colin Stuart traces the arc of discovery from the fourth-century bc heliocentricism of Aristarchus of Samos through solar spectroscopy, star formation and nuclear fusion, the “epic journey” of sunlight to Earth and more.

From Nature

Aristarchus of Samos would have been mesmerized with the latest discoveries of exoplanets.

From Scientific American

Astronomers have tried answering that question since 4 centuries before the common era, starting with Aristarchus of Samos.

From Science Magazine

With ingenuity and a dash of basic trigonometry, the ancient Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos was able to measure the Moon’s distance from Earth with surprising accuracy — in the third century bc.

From Nature

Copernicus also states the ratio of the sun-Earth to moon-Earth distances as 19, a figure that falls smack on the median of the range prescribed even earlier by Aristarchus of Samos.

From Scientific American