Category Archives: Historical

Stonehenge: Change the How!

Posted on February 15, 2016 by astrologankeller

We all know Stonehenge as a Wonder of the World, in which there are multiple sets of 3 massive rocks stacked together. The major question revolving around Stonehenge (to the lay person) is how they got the rocks up there, since the technology of the time would have made this incredibly difficult. While this is […] Continue reading →

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Stonehenge

Posted on February 15, 2016 by lawlorsolarsystem

The layout of Stonehenge has confounded historians and archaeologists for years, and they still do not entirely know why it is there. But historians have theorized that at least part of the layout has to do with astronomy. One of the stones, called the Heel Stone, is lined up exactly with the Sun on the […] Continue reading →

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Celestial NASCAR: Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

Posted on February 15, 2016 by d51blog

Before 1609, the scientific consensus in Europe was that the planets orbited the Earth in perfect circles; even dissenting views such as Copernican heliocentricism relied upon perfect circles to guide objects around the Sun. Johannes Kepler, however, motivated by minute errors in planetary distances discovered when attempting to construct Copernicus’ model, revolutionized astronomy with his laws of […] Continue reading →

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Newgrange, Archeoastronomy Before Stonehenge

Posted on February 13, 2016 by solarsystemjoe

Although Stonehenge is the most famous ancient astronomy site in Europe, it isn’t the oldest.  While Stonehenge was built around 3000 BCE, Newgrange, a tomb in Country Meath, Ireland, was built around  3200 BCE. At first glance, this tomb doesn’t seem to have much to do with astronomy; there is no telescope, nor is there a spire to […] Continue reading →

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The Center of the Universe

Posted on February 10, 2016 by jasperluastronomy

While reading the textbook, I found it very disappointing just how close the Greeks were to figuring out that Earth was not the center of the universe. Had they not been fooled by looking for parallax, they would have been led to the right conclusion that the Earth orbits the sun, rather than that everything […] Continue reading →

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The Archeoastronomy of Teotihuacán

Posted on February 9, 2016 by HB

Teotihuacán was a prominent ancient Mesoamerican city located in the Mexican highlands. Its legacy inspires civilians and scholars alike. Its stunning architecture, well-preserved art, and obvious influence over a greater area have made it one of the most studied archeological sites in Mexico. Another thing that interests many about Teotihuacán is the layout and construction … Continue reading The Archeoastronomy of Teotihuacán → Continue reading →

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More than just a Queen lyric: Galileo and his part in 17th century Europe

Posted on February 9, 2016 by d51blog

Portrait of Galileo Galilei by Justus Sustermans – Source Galileo Galilei (15 Feb 1564 – 8 Jan 1642) played an integral role in the astronomical community’s transition from the Aristotelian geocentric model of the universe to the heliocentric model of the universe, which, although still incorrect, was a more accurate representation of the heavens. While he did […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 9, 2016 by samihahplanet

Nicolaus Copernicus formed the heliocentric model of the universe, which clashed with Aristotle’s model of celestial objects orbiting Earth in a circular path. Copernicus also hypothesized that that planetary orbit depended on distance from the sun. With this model, Copernicus was able to more accurately calculate the planets’ positions throughout the year. (Source) Events during […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 9, 2016 by philhawkins221

GALILEO 1564-1642 Galileo was extremely crucial to astronomy for many reasons. First of all, he was one of the first astronomers to fully utilize telescopes to observe the sky. As a result, his findings were based completely on his nightly observations – in a time where accepted published works were based largely on conjecture. Important […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 9, 2016 by philhawkins221

GALILEO 1564-1642 Galileo was extremely crucial to astronomy for many reasons. First of all, he was one of the first astronomers to fully utilize telescopes to observe the sky. As a result, his findings were based completely on his nightly observations – in a time where accepted published works were based largely on conjecture. Important […] Continue reading →

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