"The Pythagorean harmony of the spheres lives on to this day. In his Natural History (circa AD77), the Roman scientist and noble man Pliny the Elder considered formed by the earth and Moon to be a tone; Moon to Mercury a semi-tone; Mercury to Venus, a semi-tone; Venus to the Sun, a minor third; Sun to Mars, a tone, Mars to Jupiter, a semi-tone; Jupiter to Saturn, a semi-tone; and Saturn to the fixed stars, a minor third. The 'Pythagorean Scale' created from this musical arrangement is still recognised. And Pliny's report reveals not only a heavenly musical scale, but also a Cosmic architecture that was to have a profound influence on the history of astrobiology. The story goes that only the master, Pythagoras, was graced with the gift of actually hearing this harmony of the spheres."
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Original Language: English
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Christian Huygens in: Mark Brake Alien Life Imagined: Communicating the Science and Culture of Astrobiology, Cambridge University Press, 8 November 2012, p. 8
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet)
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Mercury (planet)
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