Amazing Astronomers of Antiquity

Over 2,000 years ago ancient astronomers knew the Earth was round; they measured its diameter and distance from the Sun; knew the length of the year to the precision of our modern calendar; and developed a method for predicting eclipses. Ancient sailors navigated by the stars and some astronomers even suspected the Earth orbited the Sun.

Amazing Astronomers of Antiquity is a journey of learning from the Pantheon to the ancient Library of Alexandria to the pyramids of Egypt.

Discover why the Pantheon is an astronomical instrument, how Eratosthenes measured the Earth’s circumference, how the Saqqara Step Pyramid depicts the turning stars, who first claimed that the Earth orbits the Sun, and who created the Antikythera Mechanism with hundreds of gears to predict motions of the Sun, Moon and planets.

Preview the entire film below and download the narrative script with images here.

Film type

Length: 21min
KS3 – KS5, General audiences.
Also available in Spanish.