Why did the Babylonia choose a circle is 360 degrees?

Question

Or why did they say a circle is 360 degrees?

Answer 1

The Babylonians seem to have based their number system on numbers that had lots of divisors. They based it on 60, which is 3x4x5. 360 is the next logical step as it's 3x4x5x6, and also very nearly the number of days in a year. Keeping with this, each degree is divided into 60 minutes and each minute into 60 seconds. These are completely arbitrary divisions; the only "natural" division of the circle is into 2π radians, and that's not very convenient for calculating angles.

Answer 2

The Babylonians aren't necessarily the originator of the degree unit. They did use a sexegesimal number system (base 60) which is why we have 60 minutes per hour and 60 seconds per minute, and why degrees are often divided into 60 "arc minutes" and arc minutes divided into 60 "arc seconds".

The likely source of the 360 degree circle is that there are nearly 360 days in a year. Ancient astronomers would have noticed that the position of stars which move in a circle around the celestial pole would advance along this circle approximately 1/360th of the way each day. Primitive calendars often had 360 day years. This is the source of this unit.

Answer 3

It is all to do with the time the sun took to cross the sky. Units smaller than degrees are called minutes and seconds, remember? That gives 180 degrees and is half a circle.

Answer 4

Man invented measurement including degrees. They found out about this because they did some experiments like second, the second is the duration of 9 192631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition of bla ,bla, bla. That'show they determined the 360 degrees

Answer 5

It was not their choice 360 degrees is a perfect circle according to science not anyone's claim or choice.

Answer 6

Because it is.