History of astronomy

PREHISTORIC TO MIDDLE AGE ASTRONOMY Over the course of countless millennia, astronomy has served as a widespread source of curiosity amongst mankind. The stars, planets and various other objects that engulf our skies have captured the interests of this world’s inhabitants, from the simplest of tribesmen to city dwelling scholars and philosophers alike. As early as 32,000 years ago, humans are believed to have been tracking cosmic cycles like our Moon’s phases (Burnham, Dyer & Kanpipe 22).…

Maya contributions to astronomy influenced life in colonial America. The Maya were extremely talented astronomers who believed manifestations of the gods came in visible form through celestial bodies and their movements. Priests and other Maya astronomers studied the motion of these celestial bodies, believing they could see the gods walk across the sky. They observed and recorded the movements of the stars and planets to collect these celestial signs that foreshadowed disasters, destinies of…

How was the world formed? How did humans become prominent in the world today? These are questions that get asked everyday and a very select few of people can answer them. Out of the select few, one stands out the most and that is Carl Sagan. Carl Sagan is a very prominent astronomer, cosmologist, and an author. Carl Sagan is well known for his books: Cosmos, Broca’s Brain, The Dragons of Eden, and Contact. He also narrated show called Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. He is also well known for his…

Francois Arago’s “Report to the Chamber of Deputies” is a report presented about a proposed bill, granting M. Daguerre and to the son of M. Niepce life pension granting them a national reward due to their invention, which could not be protected by ordinary patent laws. He discusses the invention by the two men: the Daguerreotype. It is a machine that reproduces images received in the camera obscura onto copper plates. He noted that Daguerre should be well credited for the effort, time and money…

looked? Throughout history, there have been many inventions and innovations added into a telescope. Telescopes can vary in shape, size, and even color, but are all used for similar reasons. The development of the telescope dates back to around the 1600s and are still being developed and made today. Today, there are several telescopes that can be identified by people who worked and contributed into making some of the very first telescopes. Around 1608, the very first telescope in history was…

and his criticism of Aristotle left him abandoned by his colleagues. Galileo Galilei was then fired from the University of Pisa. It did not take him long to go looking for a new job, and began working at the University of Padua, teaching math, astronomy, and mechanics. His father later died in 1591, leaving him responsible for to care for his younger brother Michelangelo. During his 18 years of working at University of Padua, he for his entertaining lectures and had plenty of people who liked…

I would like to begin by saying that Astronomy is one of the most interesting science that I have studied so far. I find fascinating to understand the universe around us and can observe it. Until now, I think that my knowledge on the subjetc wew scarce, but I believe that it have increased considerably due to this subject. Astronomy is the only field of magic study that has an equivalent in the Muggle world. It not only helps the understanding of the constellations and planets, is the source…

It will discuss the general principles behind the design of the astrolabe, the astrolabes basic structure, the modifications made in the Islamic world, and its uses in astronomy…

Galileo Galilei had an interesting life. Galileo was born in Pisa on February 15, 1564. He was the first out of six children to be born in his family and his father was, Vincenzo Galilei. Later on in life, he started his education in a nearby monastery. Then in 1581 his father sent him to the University of Pisa to study medicine and philosophy of Aristotle for 4 years. Eventually, he told himself he didn’t like studying medicine, so he decided to do mathematics. With his love of mathematics he…

for thousands of years the human race have looked into space and wondered what is really out there, thanks to advances in electromagnetic radiation detection it is now possible for humans to study the universe in depth to develop theories such as a heliocentric model of the universe instead of the earlier believed geocentric model. Humans have also been able to observe never before seen phenomena such as the effects of black holes. The national aeronautics and space administration (NASA) are…