Category Archives: Historical

Historical Astronomers in Context

Galileo Galilei: Born: February 15, 1564. Died January 8, 1642. 3a: In 1605, Jamestown, Virginia was established in the New World. It was the first permanent English colony on American mainland. In 1605, Don Quixote was published. Written by Miguel de Cervantes, it was the first modern novel and became a cultural and literary landmark. 3b: … Continue reading Historical Astronomers in Context Continue reading

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

Historical Astronomers in Context

Chosen Astronomer: Johannes Kepler Born: December 27, 1571, at roughly 1pm. Died: November 15, 1630. Historical events: On March 24, 1603, when Kepler was 32, Elizabeth I of England died and was succeeded by her cousin King James VI of Scotland. His ascension of the throne united the crowns of Scotland and England. On March 22, 1622, … Continue reading Historical Astronomers in Context Continue reading

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

Historical Astronomers in Context

Chosen Astronomer: Johannes Kepler Born: December 27, 1571, at roughly 1pm. Died: November 15, 1630. Historical events: On March 24, 1603, when Kepler was 32, Elizabeth I of England died and was succeeded by her cousin King James VI of Scotland. His ascension of the throne united the crowns of Scotland and England. On March 22, 1622, … Continue reading Historical Astronomers in Context Continue reading

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

Historical Astronomers in Context

Johannes Kepler’s (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630) primary contribution to the astronomy field was his laws of planetary motion. Not only are these concepts important to modern day astrophysics (such as when sending satellites to study distant planets), but also lay the foundation for Newton’s work on universal gravitation. One major astronomical event that happened […] Continue reading

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

Historical Astronomers in Context

Johannes Kepler’s (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630) primary contribution to the astronomy field was his laws of planetary motion. Not only are these concepts important to modern day astrophysics (such as when sending satellites to study distant planets), but also lay the foundation for Newton’s work on universal gravitation. One major astronomical event that happened […] Continue reading

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

Johannes Kepler: Historical Figures in Context

Who is he? Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630) was a revolutionary in many fields of scientific discoveries including optics and logarithms. He is important to astronomy most notably because of his work with planetary motion. As the first person to develop a set of physically and mathematically sound laws that correctly accounted for … Continue reading Johannes Kepler: Historical Figures in Context Continue reading

Posted in Historical | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Johannes Kepler: Historical Figures in Context

Historical Figures in Context

Nicholas Copernicus (Feb 19, 1473 – May 21, 1543) was a Polish astronomer who introduced the heliocentric system, contrary to the geocentric theory at the time. He also proposed that the Earth turns once daily on its axis, which also changes in direction over long periods of time, resulting in the precessions of the equinoxes. … Continue reading Historical Figures in Context Continue reading

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

Historical Astronomers in Context

Galileo Galilei made many important contributions to astronomy during his lifetime. He created his own increasingly powerful telescopes. He discovered that the Moon’s surface wasn’t smooth, as it had been previously thought. He observed four moons revolving around Jupiter. He discovered many more stars with his telescopic observations. He found that Venus has phases just … Continue reading “Historical Astronomers in Context” Continue reading

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

Historical Figures in Context

Galileo Galilei (2/15/1564-1/8/1642) not only made numerous important discoveries, including Jupiter’s moons information about sunspots, and gravitational physics, but also was a champion of scientific truth in a time of a tyrannical and ignorant Church. Galileo was a proponent and improver of the Copernican (or heliocentric) solar system model and fought hard to have the … Continue reading Historical Figures in Context Continue reading

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

Historical Astronomers in Context

Nicholas Copernicus, the father of modern astronomy, was born on February 19, 1473 in Toruń, Poland. As the son of a wealthy merchant, he had considerable freedom to explore and research anything he wanted. Initially, he had chosen to attend the University of Bologna where he studied medicine and law. While there, however, he stayed […] Continue reading

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