Observation History
Spica is believed to be the star that provided Hipparchus with the data that enabled him to discover precession of the equinoxes. A temple to Menat (an early Hathor) at Thebes was oriented with reference to Spica when it was constructed in 3200 BC, and, over time, precession resulted in a slow but noticeable change in the location of Spica relative to the temple. Nicolaus Copernicus made many observations of Spica with his home-made triquetrum for his researches on precession.
As one of the nearest massive binary star systems to the Sun, Spica has been the subject of many observational studies.
Read more about this topic: Spica
Famous quotes containing the words observation and/or history:
“That observation which is called knowledge of the world will be found much more frequently to make men cunning than good.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“Systematic philosophical and practical anti-intellectualism such as we are witnessing appears to be something truly novel in the history of human culture.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)