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Re: (meteorobs) Meteor Symbol



>Subject: Re: (meteorobs) Meteor Symbol

Everybody,  The idea of there having been a specific symbol be it 
astrological or for calendrical purposes, leads us to investigate the 
sources for such symbology.  Generally in the West, the symbols have evolved 
from early Alchemical (hence Arabic) sources.  But  those sources are at 
best only a thousand years old at most.   Colin Ronan in and abridgement of 
the work by Joseph Needham "The Shorter Science and Civilisation in Chna"  
Cambridge University Press, C. 18=981, voluke 2, page 171 says 
"Correspondingly, astronomy and calendrical science were always 'orthodox', 
Confucian, sciences, unlike alchemy, for example, which was typically Taoist 
and 'heterodox'. As has been well said, 'While, among the Greek, the 
astronomer was a private person, a philosopher, a lover of the truth (as 
Ptlomey said of Hipparchus), as often as not on uncertain terms with the 
priests of his city; in China, on the contrary, he was intimately connected 
withe the sovereign pntificate of the Son of Heaven, part of an official 
government service, and ritually accomodated within the very walls of the 
imperial palace.'".

This would seem to imply that if there were any particular symoblogy used to 
express meteors, then it may be found in the literature of ancient China.

Bob Warren

>
>There could be considerable confusion to this answer since the word
>"meteora" meant simply things in heaven to the greeks.
>
>Robert Lunsford wrote:
>
> > I received the following question and don't have an answer personally.
> > Is there anyone who can shed some light on this subject? Yes, I know
> > that there were no ancient symbols for Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and the
> > asteroids.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Bob Lunsford
> >
> > Hello, I am a student in High school and my astronomy teacher recently
> > gave us some extra credit homework.  One question he asked was whether
> > the ancient greeks had a symbol for meteors and if they did what was it?
> > I know they had symbols for all 9 planets, the asteroid belt, and for
> > comets. Could you please tell me if there is a symbol for a meteor.  I
> > would greatly appreciate it.
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>
>
>
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