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==Early observation== | ==Early observation== | ||
The earliest known recorded observations of Mercury are from the MUL.APIN tablets. These observations were most likely made by an Assyrian astronomer around the 14th century BC. The cuneiform name used to designate Mercury on the MUL.APIN tablets is transcribed as UDU.IDIM.GU\U4.UD ("the jumping planet").Babylonian records of Mercury date back to the 1st millennium BC. The Babylonians called the planet Nabu after the messenger to the gods in their mythology. | The earliest known recorded observations of Mercury are from the MUL.APIN tablets. These observations were most likely made by an Assyrian astronomer around the 14th century BC. The cuneiform name used to designate Mercury on the MUL.APIN tablets is transcribed as UDU.IDIM.GU\U4.UD ("the jumping planet"). Babylonian records of Mercury date back to the 1st millennium BC. The Babylonians called the planet Nabu after the messenger to the gods in their mythology. | ||
The Greco-Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy wrote about the possibility of planetary transits across the face of the Sun in his work Planetary Hypotheses. He suggested that no transits had been observed either because planets such as Mercury were too small to see, or because the transits were too infrequent. | The Greco-Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy wrote about the possibility of planetary transits across the face of the Sun in his work Planetary Hypotheses. He suggested that no transits had been observed either because planets such as Mercury were too small to see, or because the transits were too infrequent. | ||
In medieval [[Islam]]ic astronomy, the Andalusian astronomer Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī in the 11th century described | In medieval [[Islam]]ic astronomy, the Andalusian astronomer Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī in the 11th century described Mercury's geocentric orbit as being oval, like an egg or a pignon, although this insight did not influence his astronomical theory or his astronomical calculations. In the 12th century, Ibn Bajjah observed "two planets as black spots on the face of the Sun", which was later suggested as the transit of Mercury and/or [[Venus]] by the Maragha astronomer Qotb al-Din Shirazi in the 13th century. | ||
In India, the Kerala school astronomer Nilakantha Somayaji in the 15th century developed a partially heliocentric planetary model in which Mercury orbits the Sun, which in turn orbits [[Earth]], similar to the Tychonic system later proposed by [[Tycho Brahe]] in the late 16th century. | In India, the Kerala school astronomer Nilakantha Somayaji in the 15th century developed a partially heliocentric planetary model in which Mercury orbits the [[Sun]], which in turn orbits [[Earth]], similar to the Tychonic system later proposed by [[Tycho Brahe]] in the late 16th century. | ||
==Astrology== | ==Astrology== | ||