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Question: did Greeks distinguish planets from stars?

Answer: Greeks distinguished planets from stars by studying them for a while and they just so happen to be really smart people. No offence to any other races , seriously because I'm not even Greek. i hope that helped

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Why could the ancient Greeks see only five planets?

The ancient Greeks could only see five planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—because they lacked telescopes and could only observe celestial bodies visible to the naked eye. These planets were distinguishable from stars due to their apparent motion against the backdrop of fixed stars. The other planets, such as Uranus and Neptune, are too dim and distant to be seen without optical aids. Additionally, the Greeks did not recognize the existence of these outer planets in their astronomical understanding.


How did the ancients distinguish between planets and stars in the night sky?

Ancients distinguished between planets and stars in the night sky by observing that planets move relative to the fixed background of stars, while stars maintain their positions.


What did the ancient Greeks think about the arrangement of the stars and planets?

Most ancient civilizations believed that everything revolved around the earth and in most cases they believed the earth to be flat. Also, it may have based around the religion of the civilization.


Why did the Greeks choose the name planet?

Because planet (πλανήτης) is Greek for Wanderer. As they viewed the stars, some "stars" seemed to wander. Sometimes in one direction, and then in the other (retrograde). They called these "stars" planets, although they didn't know then what they were.


Who did the Greeks believe created the stars?

The ancient Greeks believed that the stars were created by the gods, particularly by the titan Atlas, who was said to hold up the sky. Additionally, they attributed the arrangement and movements of the stars to the influence of various deities, such as Zeus and Apollo. The stars were often seen as manifestations of divine will or as the souls of heroes and significant figures from mythology.

Related Questions

Why could the ancient Greeks see only five planets?

The ancient Greeks could only see five planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—because they lacked telescopes and could only observe celestial bodies visible to the naked eye. These planets were distinguishable from stars due to their apparent motion against the backdrop of fixed stars. The other planets, such as Uranus and Neptune, are too dim and distant to be seen without optical aids. Additionally, the Greeks did not recognize the existence of these outer planets in their astronomical understanding.


What is the Name of star around which the earth orbits?

Those are called "planets". The ancient Greeks distinguished "fixed stars" - which is what we nowadays simply call "stars"; and the moving stars, which in Greek is called "planets".A planet certainly looks like a star (a very bright star, in some cases), but nowadays they are not usually called "stars".


How many planets were known to the Greeks?

These are the classical planets, those that you can see without a telescope. These are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. they could be seen to be different to the stars, since they changed positions gradually in relation to the other stars (as they orbit the sun)


Why did the Greeks use the word planet to describe the unusual stars in the sky?

The lights were first called "πλανήται" (planētai), meaning "wanderers", by the ancient Greeks, and it is from this that the word "planet" was derived. ...


How did the ancients distinguish between planets and stars in the night sky?

Ancients distinguished between planets and stars in the night sky by observing that planets move relative to the fixed background of stars, while stars maintain their positions.


Who named the arrangement of the stars the 'constellations'?

The ancient Greeks


What did the greek call planets?

the Greeks called the planets wanderers


Is this statement true or falseThe word planet comes from the Greek word planetai, which means wanderer because the ancient Greeks thought of the planets as wandering through the stars?

true


What did ancient Greeks based science on?

stars earth and sun


Why did Greeks see only five stars?

Ah, I'm going to assume you mean the ancient Greeks, and have to say they saw many more than five stars. Modern Greeks might have a problem though; if they live in the heart of a well-lit city, the light can block out the stars. We call it light pollution. But the ancients saw only 5 wandering stars - called planets - because only 5 planets are bright enough to be seen reliably. (Uranus has been glimpsed throughout history, but never tracked.)


What did the ancient Greeks believe about the sun?

The ancient Greeks believed that every day, Apollo, the god of the sun, would ride a chariot a across the sky, pulling the sun behind him.


What did the ancient Greeks think about the arrangement of the stars and planets?

Most ancient civilizations believed that everything revolved around the earth and in most cases they believed the earth to be flat. Also, it may have based around the religion of the civilization.