Daily Archives: February 9, 2016

Historical Astronomers in Context: Tycho Brahe and the Age of Exploration

Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601). Image source. Tycho Brahe was born 14 December 1546 in Knudstrup, Denmark. He was one of the most accurate astronomical observers before the telescope was invented, making extremely accurate naked eye observations. Though the consensus of the day was that the heavens were unchanging and any phenomenon that showed change occurred […] Continue reading

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a most galilean affair

Let’s talk about Galileo [February 15th, 1564 – January 8th, 1642]. Not only was he a champion of the Copernican heliocentric view of the cosmos; he also discovered four of Jupiter’s moons with his telescope – giving less and less credence to a critics of the heliocentric model because it showed that small objects could … Continue reading a most galilean affair Continue reading

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Astronomical History + Copernicus

Nicholas Copernicus- February 19, 1473 to May 24, 1543 Nicholas Copernicus’ greatest contribution to science was the idea that the Sun was the center of our solar system rather than the Earth. In other words, a heliocentric model rather than a geocentric model. This was a major step forward in determining that the Earth is […] Continue reading

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Isaac Newton (Jan 4, 1643 – Mar 31, 1727) Accomplishments Isaac Newton’s big contribution to Astronomy was the development of the Three Laws of Motion that applied to how everything in this universe moved. He developed the three laws after examining fellow astronomer, Johannes Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion. The laws include: “An object at […] Continue reading

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Galileo Galilei- The astronomer behind the assonance

Galileo Galilei was an incredibly influential astronomer who was born on February 15, 1564 and died on January 8, 1642. He is credited with unearthing many of the universe’s secrets. Among other accomplishments, Galileo was one of the first people to build a telescope and use it to study the universe. He also was the first person […] Continue reading

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Isaac Newton: January 4, 1643-March 21, 1727 Concurrent World Events 1688: Glorious Revolution in England. James II is dethroned and replaced by William and Mary, thus converting England from Catholicism to Protestantism. 1692: Salem witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. This was a time of public hysteria against theorized “witches”, resulting in 20 deaths of accused witches […] Continue reading

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Johannes Kepler in Context

Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – 1630) was important to astronomy because he developed three laws of Planetary Motion. They were a result of analyzing observations made by Tycho Brahe concerning the orbit of Mars. The laws are: Planets move in ellipses with the Sun at one focus, the radius vector describes equal areas in […] Continue reading

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World Events During Kepler’s Lifetime

Johannes Kepler: December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630 Historical Events Europeans Discover Australia: In 1606 Captain Willem Janszoon and his crew became the first recorded Europeans to sight and make landfall on Australia. This was a significant discovery for European explorers considering Australia is its very own continent. However no colonies were established in […] Continue reading

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World Events During Kepler’s Lifetime

Johannes Kepler: December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630 Historical Events Europeans Discover Australia: In 1606 Captain Willem Janszoon and his crew became the first recorded Europeans to sight and make landfall on Australia. This was a significant discovery for European explorers considering Australia is its very own continent. However no colonies were established in […] Continue reading

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Tycho and His Universe

Tycho Brahe made many important contributions to astronomy in a variety of ways. He made regular observations of the heavens and tabulated that information so that other scientists (like Kepler) could use them. He engineered and calibrated his own instruments. Brahe also theorized–he made his own solar system model that incorporated both Copernicus’ and Ptolemy’s […] Continue reading

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