SSC
The scientific explanation of solar and lunar eclipses, as being caused by the shadows of the Earth and the Moon, was given by:
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Answer: Option C — Aryabhata
Detailed Solution
The great mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata gave a scientific explanation of solar and lunar eclipses.
Aryabhata's explanation of eclipses:
- Before Aryabhata, many people believed that eclipses were caused by the demons Rahu and Ketu swallowing the Sun or the Moon.
- Aryabhata explained that a lunar eclipse happens when the shadow of the Earth falls on the Moon, and a solar eclipse happens when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun and its shadow falls on the Earth.
- He also gave methods to calculate the time and duration of eclipses.
- NCERT notes that Aryabhata gave a scientific explanation for eclipses.
About Aryabhata:
- He was born in 476 CE, and is believed to have worked at Kusumapura (Pataliputra), near present-day Patna.
- He wrote "Aryabhatiya" in 499 CE, at the age of 23.
- It is written in Sanskrit verse, with 121 verses in four sections.
His other contributions:
He stated that the Earth rotates on its axis, which causes day and night, and that the apparent movement of the stars is due to this rotation; NCERT says he explained that day and night are caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis.
He gave a very accurate value of pi (about 3.1416).
He calculated the length of the year accurately (about 365.36 days).
He worked on the place-value system, algebra, arithmetic progressions, quadratic equations and trigonometry (sine tables).
He explained that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight.
Honours:
- India's first satellite, launched in 1975, was named "Aryabhata" after him.
- The Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) is in Nainital.
Other astronomers:
- "Varahamihira": wrote Panchasiddhantika and Brihat Samhita.
- "Brahmagupta": wrote Brahmasphutasiddhanta, and gave rules for using zero.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Varahamihira and Brahmagupta were later astronomers.
- ✗Charaka was a physician.
Quick tip
Remember: Aryabhata (born 476 CE; Aryabhatiya, 499 CE; Kusumapura) = eclipses explained by shadows, rotation of the Earth, pi = 3.1416; first Indian satellite named after him.
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Scientists, Inventions & Discoveries — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Scientists, Inventions & Discoveries, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous scientists and their contributions, major inventions and their inventors, important discoveries in physics, chemistry and biology, Indian scientists and their work, and Nobel Prizes in science. Questions commonly match an invention with its inventor (the telephone with Alexander Graham Bell, and the World Wide Web with Tim Berners-Lee), a discovery with its scientist (penicillin with Alexander Fleming), or an Indian scientist with their work, such as C. V. Raman and the Raman effect, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. Practise the scientists, inventions and discoveries questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.