Born Myndos (Gümüşlük, Turkey), 140 ± 10 BCE
Died 90 ± 10 BCE
Apollonius was the earliest known astronomer to argue that comets were orbiting bodies like the planets (within a geocentric framework). His place of origin is known, but his dates are an estimate, and nothing certain is known of his life.
Apollonius is mentioned by only one extant author, Seneca, in his Natural Questions. In addition to Apollonius’s place of origin, Seneca records that Apollonius studied with the “Chaldeans,” i.e., Babylonian astrologers. Those two facts suggest that Apollonius came after Hipparchus , consistent with his claim that a comet is a “proper star, just like the sun or moon” (i.e., as exemplary bodies whose motions were believed to be well-understood due to Hipparchus).
If, as some scholars have suggested, Seneca is relying on Poseidonius for his account, then Apollonius precedes Poseidonius. That order is very likely in any case, since Poseidonius’s theory of comets held that they were...
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Selected References
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Keyser, P.T. (2014). Apollonius of Myndos. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_9220
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