History of astronomy

Maria became interested in astronomy and went to go work and study with Christopher Arnold, an excellent Astronomer (biography: Married Gottfried Kirch). Arnold was a self-taught astronomer, and observed a comet in the year of 1683. Through Arnold, Maria met Gottfried Kirch who was one of the most important astronomers in Germany. He was most known for his calendars that he made…

During the Scientific Revolution, new discoveries in astronomy sparked the interest of scientists leading to further development to future ideas. Before the 1500s, civilization had concluded that the theory of a geocentric system, originally proposed by Claudius Ptolemy in 140 AD, was accurate. The Geocentric Theory is the belief that Earth is the center of the Universe and everything revolves around it (chuckfarlieAUS). Although in the 16th and 17th century, there was a rapid succession of new…

Galileo got a teaching position at the University of Padua and there he taught geometry and astronomy. In 1600, he met the woman who would be the mother of his kids, a Venetian woman named Marina Gamba. Albeit they did not get married to each other, they had two daughters, named Virginia and Livia, and a son of a named Vincenzo. Four years after…

Eighteenth and 19th century technologies transformed the way in which the night sky was observed and led to the discovery of celestial wonders, from stars, galaxies, meteors, moons, planets, comets to nebula. The result was, in part, the creation of celestial maps that showed an exponential number of stars in the heavens, adding to the awe of a sphere that is millions of miles away and beautiful beyond compare. Star atlases became a way of conveying information about the heavens, and Elijah H.…

study medicine. However, he had a passion for mathematics and went thru that path. What brought him to the science of astronomy was that he heard about the invention of an artefact that made possible to see things far away as if there where nearby. Today he is going to give a lecture in astronomy. Therefore, I am going to talk about some of his most significant contributions to astronomy before he begins. In the year 1609 Galileo made some significant improvements to the telescope. Galileo…

Christiaan Huygens was a Dutch mathematician and scientist, lived from April 14, 1629 – July 8, 1695. He was one of the leading scientists of his time and is best known as an astronomer, physicist, proabablist, and horologist. His contributions to experimental and theoretical physics were most notably the discovery of Titan, invention of the first pendulum clock, and the earliest theory about the nature of light. His great contributions are of great significance and so he deserves to be chosen…

The inventions and developments of the telescope through the Hubble telescope are as followed: In 1946 the discovery began as Lyman Spitzer reported on some of the advantages of space observatories may be. In 1977, congress accepts funding for an oversized extra terrestrial telescope. Astronauts and people in the space field began their guidings for the telescope expeditions in 1978. Originally named the Large Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope was renamed after Edwin Powell Hubble who…

Describe the development of single dish radio telescopes and advantages of radio interferometers. Discuss major discoveries that were possible after detection of radio waves from space and how they changed our understanding of Universe. Astronomy is all about increasing our understandings about our Universe through observing objects like stars, galaxies and other bodies which exist outside Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomers make observations of these celestial phenomena by collecting…

The Keck Observatory in Maunakea, Hawaii has made some amazing discoveries over the years, making it one of the most powerful telescopes in the world. Hawaii is a perfect place to have an observatory because it is located on a 13,796 foot summit with very few city lights to pollute the sky around it (Keck, n.d.). Also, the atmosphere in Hawaii for the majority of the year is clear and dry offering the best look at the sky above us. According to Keck’s website, Keck Observatory consists of two…

Although the constellations are now used more as celestial landmarks than anything else, that wasn’t always the case. For much of human existence, the stars represented something much more spiritual. For example, many of the names for the constellations we recognize today were derived from the Ancient Greeks (http://centralastronomyclass.pbworks.com/w/page/15400605/Constellations%20of%20Different%20Cultures (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.). But they were only…