Essay On Misconceptions In Astronomy

There are many misconceptions in astronomy. For example, many people (even Harvard graduates) believe that the reason that seasons exist is that the closer Earth is to the sun, the hotter it is, resulting in summer. Likewise, the further away the Earth is from the Sun, the colder it is, resulting in winter. We know that the reason seasons exist is because of the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth. For instance, when Earth is on the right of the Sun, the tilt causes the northern hemisphere to be in the dark and the southern hemisphere to be illuminated in daylight. Therefore, in the northern hemisphere, it is winter and in the southern hemisphere, it is summer. If Earth is north of the sun, then the tilt causes indirect sunlight to hit the southern hemisphere, causing autumn. The indirect sunlight will also …show more content…
Even the Harvard graduates had misconceptions about the reason for the existence of seasons and the way lunar phases occur. I think it’s important to include astronomy lessons in science class. I understand why astronomy isn’t made a requirement. Not everybody will be interested in the subject. However, I do think it’s important for people to at least know something about the way the universe works. Physics and basic science classes won’t cover the information about the sun, the moon or the stars and they way they interact with each other. It was shocking for me to learn that Harvard graduates didn’t know much about astronomy despite coming from a science background. It was probably just as shocking for the teacher to learn that her students had misconceptions about the way seasons occur and the reason why there are lunar phases. One student had said that the reason there are crescents is because there are clouds blocking the way. It made her realize that students come up with their own ideas before the teacher teaches them. Their brains aren’t an empty void waiting to be filled with