At the end of the lesson, you will be able to explain what the Greeks considered to be the three types

of terrestrial
motion.

What were the early ideas of Greek philosophers regarding motion

How do objects move? How do moving objects stop from moving? The Greek philosophers sought answers to
these questions about motion. Their ideas on motion were significantly influenced by Aristotle, a Greek philosopher
and astronomer. His ideas were accepted because they were based on observations and made logical sense.

Ancient Greeks believed that the cosmos or the universe was divided into two realms – celestial and terrestrial. The
motion of the objects in the celestial realm was perfect and circular. They all revolved around Earth. On the other
hand, the motion in the terrestrial realm was unstable and imperfect, and there should be a cause for motion

Types of Terrestrial Motion

According to Aristotelian mechanics, there are three types of motion: natural motion, voluntary motion, and
involuntary motion.

Natural Motion

Ancient Greek philosophers believed that all things in the terrestrial realm were made out of the four elements – air,
earth, fire, and water. Their natural motion is to go back to their natural state depending on the element that
composed them. Their motion was either upward or downward.

The natural state of objects made of earth was in the geosphere. For example, when a rock, an object made of the
element earth, was thrown upward, its tendency was to go back to its natural state. Therefore, it would move
downward, towards the Earth’s center. On the other hand, the natural state of objects made of air was in the
atmosphere. For example, the smoke from a flame would move upward to go back to its natural state.

Similarly, the natural state of objects made of water was in the hydrosphere while those made of fire was in the
thermosphere

Voluntary Motion

According to Aristotle, voluntary motion was an innate characteristic of humans and animals. The cause of their
motion was in themselves because they have the will to move.

Involuntary Motion

Involuntary motion was the characteristic motion of plants and minerals. They could not move because they do not
have the will to do so. They could only move due to mechanical forces

Many years after Aristotle’s time, an Italian physicist, Galileo Galilei contradicted Aristotle’s ideas on motion. What
are his ideas on motion?

What do you think?

How do ancient Greek philosophers describe the motion of celestial bodies

The three types of terrestrial motion according to the Aristotelian mechanics are:

 natural motion where objects tend to go back to their natural state, which is based on the element that
composes them;
 voluntary motion of humans and animals due to their innate will to move; and
 involuntary motion of minerals and plants due to mechanical forces

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to explain diurnal motion, annual motion, and precession of the
equinoxes.

When you look at the night sky, you will notice that stars appear to be attached to an imaginary spherical
surface. This spherical surface is known as the celestial sphere whose center is the Earth.

How do celestial bodies move in the celestial sphere

The movement of different celestial bodies can be described as diurnal motion, annual motion, and precession of
the equinoxes.

Diurnal Motion

Diurnal motion is the apparent daily revolution of the celestial sphere around the celestial poles as a direct effect of
the Earth’s rotation on its axis. In other words, it refers to the apparent movement of stars and other celestial bodies
around Earth. The circular path that the celestial bodies take to complete the diurnal motion is called diurnal circle.

The apparent motion of celestial bodies viewed from Earth is east to west. If you observe the night sky, the stars
seem to move in a counter-clockwise direction (from east to west) with respect to Polaris or North Star. Similarly, the
apparent daily motion of the sun, which is the closest star to Earth, is counter-clockwise. You can observe that the
sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Some stars, called circumpolar stars, never seem to go away from the horizon, or never set or rise. The closer you
get to the poles, the larger the circle of circumpolar stars is. On the other hand, the nearer you get to the equator,
the circle of circumpolar stars decreases until it vanishes at the celestial poles.

Annual Motion

Annual motion is the apparent yearly movement of the stars as observed from Earth as a direct effect of the Earth’s
revolution around the sun.

The sun revolves 360 degrees a year around a path on the celestial sphere called the ecliptic. The sun moves
eastward with respect to the stars on the celestial sphere. It can be observed that the sun’s altitude changes with
season. Its altitude is at maximum during summer solstice and at minimum during winter solstice. Also, sunrise and
sunset points in the horizon changes with season. The sun rises north of east in the summer, and south of east in
the winter.

As the sun revolves around the ecliptic, different stars and constellations appear on the horizon throughout the year.
These are known as the constellations of the Zodiac

Precession of the Equinoxes

As the sun revolves around the ecliptic, it intersects the celestial equator twice during a year at two points. These
points are called the equinoxes: vernal and autumnal. During an equinox, the length of daytime is almost equal to
the length of nighttime. Vernal or spring equinox happens every March 20 while autumnal equinox occurs every
September 22. The gravitational force of the sun and the moon on Earth causes the cyclic precession or “wobbling”
of the Earth’s axis of rotation.

Precession of the equinoxes is the apparent motion of the equinoxes along the ecliptic as Earth ‘wobbles,’ and this
motion happens about every 26 000 years. At present, Earth’s North Pole points to Polaris. However, it will
eventually point to another star, Vega, because of precession.

Different stars and constellations appear on the horizon throughout the year. These are known as the constellations
of the Zodiac. Research what these constellations of the Zodiac are and how they move as the Earth wobbles

Key Points
 Diurnal motion is the apparent daily motion of the stars, including the Sun as seen from the Earth due to
the Earth’s rotation.
 Annual motion is the apparent yearly motion of the stars, including the Sun as seen from the Earth due to
the Earth’s revolution around the Sun.
 Precession of the equinoxes is the apparent motion of the equinoxes along the ecliptic as the Earth
wobbles.

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to explain how the Greeks knew that the Earth is spherical.

 The shape of the Earth is oblate spheroid. It has bulging equator and squeezed poles.
 Have you ever wondered what the early philosophers thought about the shape of the Earth?
 Around 500 B.C., most Greeks believed that the Earth was round, not flat. It was Pythagoras and his pupils
who were first to propose a spherical Earth.
 In 500 to 430 B.C., Anaxagoras further supported Pythagoras' proposal through his observations of the
shadows that the Earth cast on the Moon during a lunar eclipse. He observed that during a lunar eclipse, the
Earth's shadow was reflected on the Moon's surface. The shadow reflected was circular.
  Around 340 B.C., Aristotle listed several arguments for a spherical Earth which included the positions of the
North star, the shape of the Moon and the Sun, and the disappearance of the ships when they sail over the
horizon.
 North Star
The North Star was believed to be at a fixed position in the sky. However, when the Greeks traveled to
places nearer the equator, like Egypt, they noticed that the North Star is closer to the horizon.
 The Shape of the Sun and the Moon
Aristotle argued that if the Moon and the Sun were both spherical, then perhaps, the Earth was also
spherical.
 Disappearing Ships
If the Earth was flat, then a ship traveling away from an observer should become smaller and smaller until it
disappeared. However, the Greeks observed that the ship became smaller and then its hull disappeared first
before the sail as if it was being enveloped by the water until it completely disappeared.
 The Size of the Spherical Earth
 Ancient scholars tried to provide proof of a spherical Earth and its circumference through calculations. It was
Eratosthenes who gave the most accurate size during their time. While he was working at the Library of
Alexandria in Northern Egypt, he received correspondence from Syene in Southern Egypt which stated that
a vertical object did not cast any shadow at noontime during the summer solstice. But this was not the case
in Alexandria where, at noon time during the summer solstice, a vertical object still casts a shadow. These
observations could only mean that the Sun, during this time in Alexandria, was not directly overhead.
 Eratosthenes then determined the angle the Sun made with the vertical direction by measuring the shadow
that a vertical stick cast. He found out that in Alexandria, the Sun makes an angle of 7.2° from the vertical
while 0° in Syene. To explain the difference, he hypothesized that the light rays coming from the sun are
parallel, and the Earth is curved.
 From his measurements, he computed the circumference of the Earth to be approximately 250 000 stadia (a
stadium is a unit of measurement used to describe the size of a typical stadium at the time), about 40 000
kilometers

Key Points
The following observations led the Greeks to conclude that the Earth is sphere:

 The Earth casts a circular shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse.
 The North Star has different positions depending on the location of the observer.
 The Moon and the Sun are both spherical.
 A sailing ship becomes smaller and then its hull disappears first before the sail as if it is being enveloped by
the water until it completely disappears.
 The angle of the Sun with the vertical direction at noon time during a summer solstice varies from place to
place.