James Burke : The Day The Universe Changed: "Point Of View", 5 of 6 (CC)

[illuzion30]

@7:03: "The figure was anybody's guess sin those days." -- Eratosthenes had the Earth's circumference pretty close in the 240 BC. I guess this was conveniently ignored in the 15th century.

[datzfast]

he doesnt understand how that quadrant really works, that's funny to me LOL

[Bondianwolf]

datzfast = 2 edits = stupid

[datzfast]

his sand diagram is stupid, the star is so far away, its the pendulum that points to the earth center that moves as you move down the globe the angle from earth to the star is more or less constant.

[VtheHAPPYLURKER]

@datzfast It's more a visual aide to show how the quadrant worked than an accurate representation of the star's actual distance in relation to the Earth.

[datzfast]

you missed my point, the line to the star doesnt move its the angle to center of the earth that changes

[VtheHAPPYLURKER]

Actually, if what Britannica says is correct, the polestar did move in a circular orbit of the celestial pole. The Portuguese compensated for this in their calculations. The plump bob was used to establish a vertical line of reference. They were observing their position on Earth relative to the polestar. Burkes' diagram is a bit simplified, but as I pointed out before, it was just a visual aid to explain how the quadrant worked.

[datzfast]

for a flat earth its a correct description

[AuShawster]

This was a great series. It used to be on TLC when TLC stood for " the learning channel" - LOL

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Yup. Not much in the way of "learning" on that channel. Here too I might add, more and more.

[squeezetruck]

I need to find out what "angel dust" is.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Heh... ya, I was wondering what he was referring to there. Could be some preparation made from the coca plant I guess. Probably not opium since that was usually smoked.

It may be a psychoactive substance that's particular to that area. Like Beetlenut for example, in Taiwan.

Time to check Google I guess.

- JBW

[Oleander410]

@JamesBurkeWeb

I think it's just a spice. He mentioned it as a pepper substitute.