Babylonian astronomy

“The Copernican Question: Prognostication, Skepticism and Celestial order” by Robert Westman. Published in 2011 The piece revolves around Copernicus and his contributions to both the philosophical and scientific spheres. It raises questions about his incentives to pursue and his mindset while pursuing what he thought was “truth” especially with the knowledge of possibly being ridiculed and rejected by his peers. With this it also reveals a feel of the society of that time as we are entreated to…

How is the different between ancient Chinese astronomy and the western Astronomy is one of the most ancient disciplines and it can be traced back to around thousands of years ago. (Unsold et al 2001, p.6) As for the ancient Chinese astronomy and ancient western astronomy during their origin period both had a very similar purpose – fate and surviving. More specifically, when ancient human realized to observe stars by naked eyes, they all thought the stars and sky are holy; during the ancient…

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…

Many analysts and historians claim that the current era is an era of science. Scientific innovation occurs at an almost startling pace and no ideas are safe from criticism. With this context in mind, it is sometimes hard to grasp the fact that until recently, human inspiration was not primarily derived from the possibilities of the future. Instead, it came from tradition. This article will review the works of Andreas Vesalius, Nicolaus Copernicus, and Francis Bacon to explain how their…

better than any traditional geocentric model like that of described by Ptolemy in the Almagest, but also challenged the ancient belief in the uniform circular motions of the planets. Kepler’s new model is not only one of the greatest achievement in astronomy, but also advanced our understanding into modern physical concepts like gravity. In the sixteen hundreds, although more…

During the early 17th century, many people were still very divided on the issues concerning the motion of the earth and the sun. The church argued for geocentrism while many other scholars and individuals argued for heliocentrism. However, this fight over the Earth’s movements was not only centered around the natural sciences, but the interpretation of the bible (Westman, 11/8). This discussion included a debate on the power and authority of the church due to the Bible influencing the view of…

Are women treated fairly and equally with men in the field of science? Throughout the last century, women have had to deal with biases against them. Are women still dealing with this issue? The answer is yes. However, it is not as big of an issue today as it had been in the past. There are many women in history that did not get recognized for their hard work and discovery. You might not be familiar with Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Esther Lederberg, and Chien-Shiung Wu. These are women who helped with…

“Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.” Before the seventeenth and sixteenth century, the universe was based on the Ptolemaic System, which was developed by Ptolemy, Aristotle's theories, and Christian theology. However, as the astronomical revolution began to disembark, the Ptolemaic Theory was contradicted. The work, mathematical synthesis, and observations of astronomers such as Copernicus,…

The term soulmates has always flown about, scarf-like, through the whims of youth--as if tethered to some mythical upshot of the essence of life. But I know the truth. Oh, how they will tell tales of us, My Dear! How the pallid wash of grey-stone was enough to curse her alabaster heart. Perhaps they will liken me to a whisping strands of light caught thrashing against the estrangement of midnight. Oh, and in those stories she will be agile. One minute: a fragmented piece of daylight wrapped…

“Alright, we’re going to start this training session now.” Sabra said. “We’re going to start with Cardio, make sure to keep up. Don’t stop running until we make it to the glade. Now let’s go!” Without any hesitation Sabra starting running down the forest path. Isaac couldn’t believe she was running barefooted. He thought about her stepping on bugs, running right behind her. ran Malessica and Gerard followed right behind him. Isaac didn’t really pay much attention to his surroundings, keeping…