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Ptolemy: Almagest
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Ptolemy was the author of the astronomical treatise which is now known as the Almagest (in Greek Hè Megalè Syntaxis, "The Great Treatise"). It was preserved, like most of Classical Greek science, in Arabic manuscripts (hence its familiar name) and only made available in Latin translation (by Gerard of Cremona) in the 12th Century.
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On the motions of the Sun, Moon, and planets, Ptolemy again extended the observations and conclusions of Hipparchus, this time to formulate his geocentric theory, which is popularly known as the Ptolemaic system. In the first book of the Almagest, Ptolemy describes his geocentric system and gives various arguments to prove that, in its position at the centre of the universe, the Earth must be immovable. Not least, he showed that if the Earth moved, as some earlier philosophers had suggested, then certain phenomena should in consequence be observed. In particular,
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Ptolemy wrote a valuable history of previous observations called the "Almagest". He performed many experiments on optics and realized that starlight is refracted in the Earth's atmosphere. However, his system of planetary motions was a major blunder, and unfortunately, it was adopted for nearly 1400 years.
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Ptolemy's "Handy Tables," intended for practical computation, were edited by Theon of Alexandria in the fourth century A.D. and became, with various modifications, the basis of later astronomical tables in Greek, Arabic, and Latin. The "Handy Tables" allow the calculation of solar, lunar, and planetary positions and eclipses of the sun and moon far more rapidly than the tables included in the "Almagest." This early and elegant uncial manuscript is well-known for its illumination, which appears to descend from a prototype in late antiquity as can clearly be seen in this map of the constellations, drawn elegantly in white against the dark blue of the night sky, showing the northern part of the zodiac.
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The establishment of theory by experiment, frequently by constructing special apparatus, is the most striking feature of Ptolemy's "Optics". Whether the subject matter is largely derived or original, "The Optics" is an impressive example of the development of a mathematical science with due regard to physical data, and is worthy of the author of the "Almagest".
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Almagest