Circa 190-120 B.C.E.
Astronomer And Geographer
Reputation. Like Eratosthenes, Hipparchus is quoted throughout Strabo's books. Hipparchus, who hailed from Nicaea (a city in Bithynia, in modern Turkey), flourished in the middle of the second century B.C.E, and is considered the greatest astronomer of antiquity. He discovered the precession of the equinoxes, accurately estimated the lunar distance, computed both lunar and solar eclipses, compiled the first catalogue of stars (containing a total of 850), and devised trigonometry. There is also reason to believe that he invented the plane astrolabe, which allowed a user to tell time at night from the stars' positions.
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