Category Archives: Historical

Understanding Retrograde Motion

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Elias Ibrahim

the planets as seen from Earth Retrograde motion is when a planet appears to move backward in its orbit relative to the rest of the night sky. Planets such as Mars and Jupiter can be seen in retrograde motion. Retrograde motion occurs due to the movements and relative positions of other planets around the sun. […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Understanding Retrograde Motion

Blog 02 – History of Astronomy

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Mercedes

Ancient Mesopotamia is the earliest known source of modern astronomical research. Babylonian MUL.APIN texts provide data on stars’ locations and celestial descriptions dated to 1200 BCE. The group used their fingers and 360 units (comparable to modern 360 degrees) to chart the sky, distances, and celestial movement and occurrences. They used their star passages to […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Blog 02 – History of Astronomy

Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Justinc

A portrait of Galileo Galilei

Importance to Astronomy – Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) contributed many findings related to astronomy, a few include: He took a spyglass and improved upon it so that… Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context

Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Alekzander Waller

Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) Isaac Newton was important to astronomy due to Isaac Newton was crucial to astronomy because he developed the concept of universal gravitation, which explained why planets orbit the sun. This concept provided a unified theory for the motion of celestial bodies, essentially laying the foundation for […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context

Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Michael

Tycho Brahe: 12/14/1546 – 10/14/1601 Brahe has been described as the greatest astronomer before the invention of the telescope. He was devoted towards building new measurement instruments with unprecedented levels of accuracy, which were necessary for his discoveries. A few of his most notable observations include the annual variation in the orbital speed of the […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context

Historical Figures in Context

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Elias Ibrahim

The dates of birth and death for major astronomical figures. Nicolaus Copernicus/Born: February 19, 1473. Died: May 24, 1543 Galileo Galilei/Born: February 15, 1564 Died: January 8, 1642 Johannes Kepler/Born: December 27, 1571. Died: November 15, 1630 Isaac Newton/Born: January 4, 1643. Died: March 31, 1727 Tycho Brahe/Born: December 14, 1546 Died: October 24, 1601 […] Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Historical | Tagged , | Comments Off on Historical Figures in Context

Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Matthew Marcus

Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) Johannes Kepler’s most recognized contribution to astronomy are his three laws of planetary motion, published in 1609. First, planets’ orbital paths are elliptical, with the sun positioned at one focus. Second, during a planet’s orbit, equally sized sectors are swept out from the planet to the […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context

Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on September 16, 2024 by jasonljohnson465

I chose the Astronomer Isaac Newton. Photo of Sir Isaac Newton Historical Events: The End of the English Civil War: It ended on September 3rd, 1651 with Oliver Cornwall’s victory at Worcester. It was a war that occurred in the British Isles between the supporters of Charles I and opposing groups in each of Charle’s […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical, Science | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context

Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Catherine Sack

Isaac Newton was important for astronomy because he introduced the concept of gravity and how planets orbits around the sun. He developed three laws for motion and a law for gravitation. His findings changed the operations and understanding of the universe. The ending of the Thirty Years’ War and the second Anglo-Dutch war starting in […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context

Historical Astronomers in Context: Galileo Galilei

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Henry Wang

Galileo (1564-1642) was important to astronomy for many reasons. Galileo invented one of the first versions of a telescope, based on a spyglass, that he used to view the sky. His first major discovery was that the moon isn’t smooth, it has mountains, craters, and features on its surface. He then discovered many interesting things, […] Continue reading →

Posted in Historical | Tagged , | Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context: Galileo Galilei