Ptolemy's formalized model, detailed in the *Almagest*, became authoritative for over a millennium primarily because of what quality?

Answer

It was remarkably effective at predicting planetary positions.

Ptolemy's system, built upon earlier work, became the authoritative text because, despite its underlying physics being later disproven, it provided highly accurate predictions of observable planetary positions.

Ptolemy's formalized model, detailed in the *Almagest*, became authoritative for over a millennium primarily because of what quality?
ancientastronomyobservationstarcivilization