Sometimes it takes the protagonist who does not deserve. And others, who deserves it is forgotten. History, despite the proven, scientific method, human, and as a human, is imperfect and therefore often unjust. Who remembers, for example the names of the soldiers in a war instead of the name of the generals who lead them? Nobody. Obviously it is impossible to know so many names, but no longer impossible to be unfair. And now a more specific who do we remember when we talk about Heliocentrism ? Many will of Galileo Galilei. Others, a bit more refined, they will of Nicholas Copernicus. And who knows more about the topic and also agreed to summon both Johannes Kepler and elliptical orbits. But who will remember Aristarchus of Samos ?
Aristarchus was a Greek mathematician (born in Samos) in the third century BC, developed his personal and professional lives mainly in Alexandria, one of the most prosperous cities and center of learning and scholarship of antiquity. Soon became interested in the study of the heavens and astronomy, and thanks to these observations and their extensive knowledge mathematics and geometry, able to determine the angle of the Sun, Earth and Moon when she was in one of their rooms. And obviously, with these angles, calculated the distances (with amazing precision for the time and resources available).
Thus, Aristarchus realized that the distance from Earth to the Sun was much larger than the Earth-Moon distance. Given this, and that the Sun and Moon seen from Earth, have a similar apparent size, Aristarchus deduced that the Sun must be much larger than the moon and even their own Earth. These deductions, which in themselves were already extremely revolutionary and represented a tremendous advance, were not there, but they did that, along with other evidence and studies, Greek rethink the Aristotelian theory that dominated Geocentrism then - What is the point has the largest body (Sol) is the one that revolves around the youngest (Earth)? - and become a the first to formulate a complete heliocentric theory.
Unfortunately, the works of Aristarchus, one has come to this day its "From the sizes and distances from the Sun and the Moon" , since the rest was lost in the famous fire of the Library of Alexandria, and we know their ideas for quotations from other scholars. In addition, as many others ahead of their time, Aristarchus was misunderstood and it seems that suffered numerous pressures against their theories, they had to wait 1,700 years to Copernicus and Galileo resumed it and began his gradual but definite establishment in society .
And is that theories of this ancient mathematician, not only represented a revolution in physics and astronomy, but also philosophical and cultural, as it did rethink the role of human beings in the universe - If even the Earth is the center of stars of their environment ... How will be the man the center of the universe and of existence? -. Big question right? The mystery of life. Perhaps it is not this the life that we have to star but perhaps one that comes next? I do not know. And even a similar reflection, but most of the day to day: If the Earth is not the center of the universe ... if the Earth is not so important then ... if the earth is only one more ... Why do we as individuals we believe as important in a society or a group? Why we see only our own and why it so difficult to get into the skin of others? Why is it so difficult to change their minds and listen to others? If you're just one more ... Why pretend that everything revolves around us?
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