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Claudius Ptolemy's star tables found immediate use in navigation.

A) True
B) False

User Alek
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Final answer:

The claim that Claudius Ptolemy's star tables were immediately used in navigation is false. Ptolemy's geocentric model was more of a theoretical framework to predict planetary positions, not a practical tool for navigation. Practical use in navigation came later, with tools like the astrolabe that had some conceptual links to Ptolemy's work.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that Claudius Ptolemy's star tables found immediate use in navigation is False. Although Ptolemy was an influential figure in the development of astronomy and astrology, his contributions were primarily in the form of a geometrical model of the solar system, which aimed to predict the positions of the planets.

Navigation, particularly oceanic navigation that required the understanding of celestial positioning, would have been based on celestial observations, but Ptolemy's complex system was not immediately applicable to such practical tasks. It wasn't until much later that navigational tools, such as the astrolabe, were developed using knowledge that could be traced back to Ptolemy's findings.

Moreover, Ptolemy's views were dominant in European astronomy for over 1000 years due to the presence of the Dark Ages in Europe and the preservation and translation of his works in the Arab world. It was only with the advent of the Renaissance and figures like Copernicus that the heliocentric theory gained prominence.

User Gnab
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