AstroSpaceTech

⭐INDIAN ASTRONOMY ⭐ India was a major center of ancient knowledge. Astronomy is referenced in the Rigveda, one of the foremost texts of Hinduism, created between 1700 and 1100 B.C. In this and other Vedic texts, astronomy is interlaced with religious tradition so it is sometimes hard to tell them apart. Astronomical practices in India date back to about 1500 B.C. Indian texts dating from around 450 A.D. used Greek computational methods and referred to the longitudes of both Alexandria and Benares, a major Indian astronomical center. Indian mathematicians invented the number system that uses zero, which is the basis of our decimal system. The first known astronomy text in India appeared in about 600 A.D. Written by Aryabhata, it described planetary motions and eclipses. By this time, India had extensive contact with the Mesopotamian and Greek worlds, and influences probably traveled both ways. However, Aryabhata had original ideas that were not widely accepted elsewhere. He adopted a he...