Conon of Samos

Conon of Samos

Conon of Samos (ca. 280 BC – ca. 220 BC) was a Greek astronomer and mathematician. He is primarily remembered for naming the constellation Coma Berenices.

Contents

Life and work

Conon was born on Samos, Ionia, and possibly died in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt, where he was court astronomer to Ptolemy III Euergetes. He named the constellation Coma Berenices ("Berenice's Hair") after Ptolemy's wife Berenice II. She sacrificed her hair in exchange for her husband's safe return from the Third Syrian War, which began in 246 BCE. When the lock of hair disappeared, Conon explained that the goddess had shown her favor by placing it in the sky. Not all Greek astronomers accepted the designation. In Ptolemy's Almagest, Coma Berenices is not listed as a distinct constellation. However, Ptolemy does attribute several seasonal indications (parapegma) to Conon. Conon was a friend of the mathematician Archimedes whom he probably met in Alexandria.

Pappus states that the spiral of Archimedes was discovered by Conon. Apollonius of Perga reported that Conon worked on conic sections, and his work became the basis for Apollonius' fourth book of the Conics. Apollonius further reports that Conon sent some of his work to Thrasydaeus, but that it was incorrect. Since this work has not survived it is impossible to assess the accuracy of Apollonius' comment.

In astronomy, Conon wrote in seven books his De astrologia, including observations on solar eclipses. Ptolemy further attributes seventeen "signs of the seasons" to Conon, although this may not have been given in De astrologia. Seneca writes that "Conon was a careful observer" and that he "recorded solar eclipses observed by the Egyptians",[1] although the accuracy of this statement is doubted. The Roman Catullus writes that Conon "discerned all the lights of the vast universe, and disclosed the risings and settings of the stars, how the fiery brightness of the sun is darkened, and how the stars retreat at fixed times."[2]

See also

Citations and footnotes

  1. ^ Otto E. Neugebauer (1975)
  2. ^ Ivor Bulmer-Thomas (1970-1990)

References

External links


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  • Conon De Samos — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Conon (homonymie). Conon de Samos (env. 280 av. J. C. env. 220 av. J. C.) était un astronome et un mathématicien grec. Conon était né sur l île de Samos en Ionie et décéda peut être à Alexandrie, Égypte… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Conon de samos — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Conon (homonymie). Conon de Samos (env. 280 av. J. C. env. 220 av. J. C.) était un astronome et un mathématicien grec. Conon était né sur l île de Samos en Ionie et décéda peut être à Alexandrie, Égypte… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Conon de Samos — (ca. 280 a. C. ca. 220 a. C.) fue un astrónomo y matemático griego. Se le conoce principalmente por haber dado nombre a la constelación Coma Berenices. Vida y obra Conon nació en la isla de Samos, en Jonia, y posiblemente… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Conon de Samos — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Conon (homonymie). Conon de Samos (env. 280 av. J. C. env. 220 av. J. C.) était un astronome et un mathématicien grec. Conon était né sur l île de Samos en Ionie et décéda peut être à Alexandrie, Égypte… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Conon of Samos — (fl. 245 bc) Greek mathematician and astronomer Conon settled in Alexandria and was employed as court astronomer to the Egyptian monarch Ptolemy III. None of Conon s own writings survive and what is known of his work is through secondhand… …   Scientists

  • Conon Of Samos — ▪ Greek mathematician flourished c. 245 BC, , Alexandria       mathematician and astronomer whose work on conic sections (curves of the intersections of a right circular cone with a plane) served as the basis for the fourth book of the Conics of… …   Universalium

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  • Conon (disambiguation) — Conon may refer to: Conon, an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War Conon (crater), a lunar crater Conon of Samos (c.280 BC–c.220 BC), Greek astronomer and mathematician Conon (mythographer) Conon de Béthune (c.1150–1219 or 1220),… …   Wikipedia

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  • Conon (homonymie) — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Conon est un nom d origine grecque qui peut désigner : Conon, stratège athénien (Ve IVe siècle av. J.‑C.). Conon de Samos, astronome et un… …   Wikipédia en Français

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