20.4: Final Comments

According to “A History of Astronomy" by A. Pannekoek, the result obtained by Hipparchus was between 62 and 73 Earth radii. Today we know the average distance is about 60 radii, varying by a few Earth radii either way because of the ellipticity of the Moon's orbit.

In the absence of accurate timing, the method is almost guaranteed to produce an overestimate. The Earth rotates beneath the shadow spot cast by the Moon, which makes that spot sweep over a long strip, hitting many different locations at different times. The Hellespont was just one of many places where the eclipse was total. Similarly, Alexandria was just one of many locations where 4/5 of the Sun was covered. Randomly selecting point B from the first group and point A from the second may give a much longer baseline AB and a much larger (and incorrect) distance of the Moon. The fact Alexandria is almost exactly south of the Hellespont does not guarantee their peak eclipse times are the same, just that they are not too different.

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