scientific article; zbMATH DE number 19167
[For the entire collection see Zbl 0734.00010.] The article is told to be ``an introduction to Babylonian astronomy and no survey --- but as such it goes considerably deeper than many other popular expositions of similar proportions. Without presupposing deeper mathematical knowledge on the part of the reader the author assumes that he is accustomed to thinking in numbers. After an introduction to the sexagesimal place value system, the article presents the key techniques of Babylonian mathematical astronomy through three examples. Illustrating at the same time some of the difficulties involved in interpreting the numerical schemes: 1) The movement of the Sun according to ``system A, computed by means of a step function (as explained in a procedure text which is presented). 2) The movement of the Moon with relation to the Saros period, the \(\phi\)-function and its computation by means of a zigzag-function. The relation of the \(\phi\)-function and certain cognates to the computation of the daily movement of the Moon and the distance between consecutive full moons is described together with the recent results of Lis Brack-Bernsen on its probably roots in the observation of horizon phenomena. 3) The use of a third-order interpolation scheme to determine the movement of Jupiter.
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