Astronomy

Astronomy and Astrology: A Battle of Two Ancestral Brothers Astronomy, being an actual natural science, and not just predictions and magic, is a much more useful practice than its ancestral brother, astrology. Though, long ago, astronomy and astrology were once thought to be the one and the same, in the modern era, these two "sciences" are different in both the way they are practiced, and the tools with which you practice them. Astronomy, considered to be the more "real", respected science out…

the naked eye. The writings were exceptionally detailed and were in order according to daily, monthly and yearly positions of planets and stars. Not only were Scribes documenting the sky, according to an article written on Dawdlez, “Back then, astronomy had quite a significant mystical component so these scribes also interpreted omens for the king and warned him about potential future events. Afterwards the records were archived so that future astronomers could use them to learn to make their…

Web Site one: The name of the site is: Astronomy for Kids. The URL for the site is: http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm. The user of this site would be: the students. On this site the student will be able to find information about the sun or any of the planets in our solar system. Another aspect of the site is that students can learn about the different moons of the planets. This site also contains interesting information about Saturn’s rings. Finally, the students will be able to…

Ptolemy is a astronomer that made many observations of his time and they were accepted by many and he even developed the name “al-Magistri” or “The Greatest.” Ptolemy made observations of the universe, the article stating, “Ptolemy accepted Aristotle’s idea that the Sun and the planets revolve around a spherical Earth, a geocentric view. Ptolemy developed this idea through observation and in mathematical detail.” Even though in the early decades of Ptolemy’s life and the limitations of…

Man Isn’t Center of the Universe Anymore? Before the sixteenth century, the common knowledge of astronomy was based off the Pythagoras, Aristotle, and the Ptolemaic model. They said the Earth was the center of the universe and everything, including the sun, planets, and the heavenly spheres rotated about its center. Aristotle established the principle that there were only seven planets considered wandering stars: Earth, moon, sun, Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter. Anything besides these stars…

Aristarchus of Samos was not only an astronomer but also a mathematician. He lived between 310–230 B.C. and belonged to the Pythagorean School of Thought (Heath). His mathematical knowledge helped him to discover great advances in the world of astronomy. His writing The Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon is his only surviving text (Aristarchus ‘16). Aristarchus’ description of the solar system was similar to our modern one and this was about 1500 years before Copernicus made his geocentric…

Today, the condemnation of Galileo’s advocacy of Copernican heliocentrism is often cited as an example of how the medievals were inherently hostile to science. However, a closer examination of two factors of the Galileo controversy shows that the modern conception is incorrect. First, the history: Galileo had enjoyed the pope’s support until Galileo attacked the pope personally, and even once convicted, Galileo did not suffer under substantial persecution from the church. Second, it is necessary…

Plato once said, “Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world into another.” Obviously, astronomy has always been an interest to mankind. We look up into the night sky and feel an urge, something pulling us towards the stars. Many people have been influential in discoveries involving the stars and the planets beyond. From Galileo Galilei to Stephen Hawking, we have learned and discovered amazing things about the universe, and in recent discoveries we have wondered if…

Astronomy was particularly important to the Greek because it helped them understand the forces of life both practical and theoretical, and Ptolemy helped the Greeks with some progress of the universe around them. Since this was a long period of time ago they didn't have the intelligence advancement as we do now, so with the help of mathematics, science, and astronomy, Ptolemy helped try to explain what the Greeks couldn't. Astronomy became important to the Greeks because Ptolemy taught the…

Egyptian astronomy began in the prehistoric times. The Egyptians knowledge of astronomy helped them contribute to modern day science. The Egyptians were considered “observers of the sky” They are well known for their contribution of the 24 hour day and the calendar. “When the lack of rainfall in North Africa forced a man to abandon his nomadic life as a hunter and settle down near water, he had perforce to become mainly an agriculturist. In eastern North Africa the Nile valley proved to be an…