Monthly Archives: February 2014

Historical Astronomers in Context: Galileo Galilei

Posted on February 9, 2014 by katiew

Galileo Galilei (February 15, 1564 – January 8, 1642) is a mathematician and astronomer most well known for supporting and publishing the heliocentric model, suggested by Copernicus. Galileo helped overturn objections to Copernicus’ model by making discoveries about motion, the imperfectness of things in the sky, and providing evidence that the stars are much farther […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context: Isaac Newton

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Drew Hamilton

Isaac Newton (December 25, 1642 – March 20, 1727) spent some time working on gravitation and how it affects the orbits of planets. He eventually published the Principia Mathematica, which introduced Newton’s law of universal gravitation, i.e. In September 1666, when Newton was 23 and attending Trinity College, Cambridge (in England), the Great Fire of London… Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 9, 2014 by gradytlynch

Johannes Kepler’s contribution to astronomy can be matched by few. The laws of planetary motion appropriately named Kepler’s laws are still used to this day for approximating planetary orbits. His equations and observations gave us insight into the relationship between orbital period and orbital distance. Ultimately, Kepler’s contributions to astronomy played a key role in […] Continue reading →

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Astronomers Fitting into the Real Timeline

Posted on February 9, 2014 by juliamac17

Tycho Brahe (12/14/1546 – 10/24/1601) was a Swedish noble whose interest in astronomy was aroused during his years of higher education. With his money he was able to build a state-of-the-art observatory as well as many different instruments that enabled him to revolutionize instrumentation and observational habits, as well as record some of the most accurate observations […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context – Tycho Brahe

Posted on February 9, 2014 by hughavanheesewijk

Tycho Brahe (December 14th, 1546 – October 24th, 1601) was the last of the most famous naked eye astronomers. He used his accurate observations made using telescopes to conclude that supernovae were tailless comets that were closer to Earth than the moon. He also concluded that comets passed through the celestial sphere. He threw away the […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context – Kepler

Posted on February 9, 2014 by ilman

Johannes Kepler’s(1571-1630) love for astronomy started at a young age. He had amazing mathematical prowess although challenged by poor vision which limited his ability in astronomical observation. During his prime years, he worked as an assistant to astronomer Tycho Brahe who collected numerous and accurate data of celestial positions in hope of building his own […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Chad F

Nicholas Copernicus (Feb. 19th, 1473- May 24th, 1543) realized that there were many errors in the Earth centered model for the universe.  Copernicus discovered a formula to determine orbital speed based off of distance from the sun.  He published a book describing his Sun centered theory, but it was no more accurate than the Ptolemaic model because […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 8, 2014 by hollyreichert

For my astronomer, I chose Galileo Galilei.  He was born on February 15, 1564 and died on January 8, 1642. In 1607, Jamestown Settlement was founded in present day Virginia.  This was the beginning of British settlement of North America.  It was the foundation of the colonies that later became the United States of America. In […] Continue reading →

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