The Mesopotamian astronomers went way beyond just discovering the planets. They also traced their movement and discovered they followed predictable periodic paths.
It isn't surprising that these astronomers soon hypothesized that the motion of the planets was governed by laws that were set in motion by the gods.,From the familiar horoscopes, to the heliocentric model of the universe, the skilled ancient astronomy of the Chaldeans can be found around us, glimpses of a ,Our knowledge of their contribution to ancient astronomy is gleaned from indirect transmission to the Babylonian culture.
Early Babylonian records, dating from ,The ancient Mesopotamians began to engage in the study of astronomical science towards the end of the 4th millennium B.C. but the first written texts that have come down to us from the Babylonians, and subsequently from the Assyrians, date back to the 2nd millennium.,The mesopotamians predictive approach and mathematical precision saw the first glimmerings of the scientific method in the deserts and mountains of Persia, ,This land, straddling the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, now lies in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran.