Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Leigh

Galileo Galilei – 1564 – 1642

Galileo was important to astronomy because he solidified the Copernican revolution through his observations. First, he demonstrated that a moving object stays in motion unless a force acts to stop it, which disproved Aristotle’s argument that the Earth couldn’t be moving because otherwise things like birds would get left behind as Earth moved. He also dispelled the idea of heavenly perfection through his observations of the mountains and craters on the moon and sunspots on the sun. He made two other key observations that disproved the geocentric view – Jupiter has four moons that orbit it and Venus goes through phases.

Important Historical Events:

1607 – Founding of Jamestown, Virginia. This was the first English settlement on the American mainland. This was a very important development as it began English engagement in America and the influence of both the Europeans on American and America on Europe.

1616 – First rounding of Cape Horn. This was the first time a sailing ship from Europe passed the Southern tip of South America en route to the West Coast of the America. Until the Panama Canal was built, this was the only way ships could travel from the east coast to the west coast of the Americas, and so the discovery of this route was very influential for trade and transportation during the next several centuries.

Important Historical Figure:

William Shakespeare, April 23, 1564 – April 23, 1616. Shakespeare is one of the most well known writers and his plays and other works are read throughout the world. His works are considered classics and his name is ubiquitous in the world of literature.

It is very interesting to think about the events that correlate with Galileo’s discoveries. When Galileo was studying the solar system, he and others in Europe weren’t even aware of their entire world and what existed across the Earth from them. It’s also interesting to think about how little people in Galileo’s time knew about the solar system and universe. All of Shakespeare’s works were created in a time when knowledge was so much more limited than it is today.


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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2014 by forestcsharp

My Chosen Astronomer: Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler

Picture via NASA

Johannes Kepler was born in 1571 and died in 1630.

Historical Events During Kepler’s Life

In 1580, Francis Drake completed his circumnavigation of the globe.
In 1605, Cervantes’s ‘Don Quixote de la Mancha’ is published.
In 1619, A Dutch ship brings African Slaves to British-Controlled North America

Historical Contemporary of Kepler: William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was a contemporary of Johannes Kepler. Shakespeare is arguably the most famous playwright of both his time and in history. His works include “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, and “Much Ado about Nothing.”

A Brief Reflection

While searching for contemporaries of some of these early astronomical observers, I was astounded how most of the people that came to mind didn’t live even remotely early enough to fit the criteria.  I first searched for composers, but all of the composers I knew were of later periods. The Violin craftsman Stradivari also lived too late to fit. This really made me realize how old of a practice astronomy is.


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Corner with Copernicus: Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Lauren

Nicholas Copernicus graced world with his presence by entering the world on February 19, 1473.  Sadly, he passed away May 24, 1543.  Copernicus was a radical man who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he believed in.  Despite the prospect of being excommunicated and condemned by the church as a heretic for his revolutionary idea that the sun is in the middle of the universe instead of the earth, which was considered the truth by the church for the past hundred years, he published his own findings knowing that he would be putting himself in danger. Copernicus opened the way for mankind to fully understand the universe by properly placing the sun in the center.  During Copernicus’s life time, in 1522 Portuguese voyager Ferdinand Magellan journeys once around the world with hopes to find a route to the Indies for trade purposes.  In the art world, Leonardo Davinci creates his iconic masterpiece the Mona Lisa in 1504, known for her enigmatic smile.  Similarly, Martin Luther, alive from November 10, 1483 to February 18, 1546, was the leader of the movement that caused the shift within the church and the concept of Christianity.  Martin Luther was the father of the Protestant Reformation, and the first to break away from the Roman Catholic Church, which opened doors for more different interpretations of the Bible.  It’s interesting to see how the 1400-1500s was a period of change and revolution.  It was a time where the people were starting to become enlightened and learn more about the world.  They were just starting to realize how the rules of the universe where able to be challenged and broken.  It was a time where the traditionalist mindset was destroyed, and a crack was made into the wall that allowed for modern thinking to come through.


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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2014 by karapetros

Tycho Brahe

Born December 14, 1546; Died October 24, 1601

Brahe’s contributions to astronomy were based on observations he was able to make despite not having access to a telescope.  He was able to map put planetary motion, which helped in the development of the current model of the solar system.  He had observed a supernova, which he was able to conclude wasn’t just a local object based on the fact that it had no parallax.  Brahe observed a comet and noticed that its parallax showed that it was further than the moon, so it could not have been gases in the atmosphere as Aristotle predicted.  Additionally, he noticed that the stars had no parallax and hypothesized that they were so far away that the parallax was unobservable.

In His Life

One major historical event that happened during Brahe’s lifetime was the invention of the pencil in January 1565.  Another historical event occurring during this time was Ferdinand took over the Holy Roman Empire. His reign lead to a period of peace, and crowned the Holy Roman Emperor without the Pope.

Another famous historical figure to live during this time was Queen Mary, also referred to as “Bloody Mary.”  During her reign over England, she prosecuted hundreds of Protestants and reestablished the Church of England.   She was born February 18, 1516 and died November 17, 1558.

Learning this context helped me realize how limited these astronomers were in their resources and technology that they used in observing, calculating, and hypothesizing about various astronomical phenomena. Many of the early astronomers didn’t even have access to telescopes, so all of their theories and perspectives were based on observations made purely from the naked eye.  Also, these scientific discoveries were taking place during the height of religious reformation.  These discoveries often suggested the imperfection of the heavens, which the church likely was unhappy about, making it more difficult for the astronomers to have support behind their claims.


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Historical Astronomers in Context: Johannes Kepler

Posted on February 10, 2014 by thomasridgway

Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – 15 November, 1630) was known for his incredibly influential three laws of planetary motion. When he was alive, astronomy and physics where broken in two categories. He was the first to combine the two fields together into one category which he reffered to as “celestial physics.” He also worked for Tycho as an analyst, creating theories with what information Tycho gave him. After Tycho died, Kepler finished the Rudolphine Tables.

Two major historical events that happened during Kepler’s lifetime include England becoming a Protestant country, which starts the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1603. The Catholic Spanish see this as an opportunity for a religious crusade to conquer England. Also, the first settlers create the first permanent settlement in the Western Hemisphere in 1609, later calling the settlement Jamestown.

Kepler was a contemporary of the influential musician Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525 – February 2, 1594) who was a Renaissance composer. He was incredibly influential in the church for his work with sacred music. His music was the basis for Gradus ad Parnassum, a book in 1725 written by Johann Fux, where the Renaissance style and techniques were used for students studying counterpoint. We still use Palestrina as a model for 16th century counterpoint.

Kepler lived in a very exciting time in history where more and more facts were being discovered about the universe. The world was full of brilliant men in every field – literature, music, mathematics, and among many others. Much of what we know now was due to the curiosity and the sheer work ethic of these men. It forever changed the way we see the world and the universe.


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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2014 by zkorman

Nicolas Copernicus (February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543)

Nicholas Copernicus was very important to modern astronomy. He was the first to publish his work and his theories of heliocentrism, and sparked a gradual shift of popular opinion from the Ptolemaic geocentric model.

Historical events occurring during the life of Nicholas Copernicus:
i. Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and came across the Americas, leading to widespread knowledge of the American continents. (~1492)
ii. The Statue of David was sculpted by Michelangelo, one of the most famous sculptures ever created. (~1501-1504)

Historical figure alive during the life of Nicholas Copernicus:

Ferdinand Magellan (1480 – April 27, 1521) was the first explorer to organize an expedition to circumnavigate the Earth.

Within this timeline, including the early colonization of the Americas, humanity still had little grasp on the true nature of our universe as we understand it today. They still hadn’t even pointed a telescope towards the heavens yet, most still proscribed to the geocentric model of the universe, and in historical context the Americas were already being discovered for Europeans!


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Thinking about History: Tycho Brahe

Posted on February 10, 2014 by eschellhase

Life: Tycho Brahe was born 19 February (10 days from now!) 1473 and died 24 May 1543.

Contributions to Astronomy: He greatly improved  astronomical measurements. As well as making very precise observations himself, he introduced methods and instruments which universally made  measurements more accurate. Also, he observed objects in the sky at various points in their orbits. These measurements later allowed Kepler to verify the idea that planets move in elliptical orbits.

During his Lifetime: In 1584 the first English colony was established in Virginia by Sir Walter Raleigh. Later a scion of this settlement would become known as the Lost Colony.

In 1588 the Spanish Armada was defeated by England. The Spanish Armada was before considered to be invincible.

William Shakespeare lived from about 1564 to 1616.  He greatly contributed to literature by the plays he wrote.

Some Reflection: People in the past and the present build upon the work of people who came before them.  Brahe enabled Kepler to advance astronomy, the Raleigh colony contributed to the formation of the United States, and Shakespeare has greatly contributed to literature. What we know and do now is because of observations and thoughts made by the people before us.


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Newton – Creativity in Science Exemplified

Posted on February 9, 2014 by paanvaannd

Science is more than mere observations and compilations of facts.  In fact, many have argued that it is quite creative field, and Isaac Newton’s history can testify to that.  Newton’s realization that the same forces that pulled apples to the ground were in fact the same forces that held the Moon in Earth’s orbit and held Earth in the Sun’s orbit is an example of one of science’s most fundamental aspects – creative logical induction.  Scientists use the process of induction to generate new hypotheses to test, so good scientists must be creative people by nature.  But creativity is not simply limited to the process of making new hypotheses to test – it extends deeper into the seemingly mechanical scientific method by molding creative ways used to test the newly created hypotheses.  Scientists need to be creative on order to generate tests to a lot of hypotheses, especially ground-breaking hypotheses.  Newton is extremely important to astronomy because although he was not the one to usher in the new era of astronomical discovery, he was indeed one of the greatest minds to have extended our wealth of knowledge and understanding of nature during the time.
His three laws of motion also give us insight to his creativity.  The actual experiments and thought experiments he conducted in order to generate his laws of motion, and the plethora of other discoveries he made, serve to illustrate his imaginative and hard-working mind.  His laws were generated hundreds of years ago, but are still extremely vital today and have paved the way for thousands of discoveries that have ensued.  His laws of motion allow us to build and deploy satellites, launch spacecraft, and better understand stars, planets, comets, solar systems, galaxies, and even the fabric of the universe.  There is still much to be learned about space, and Newton is important and relevant today not only because of the discoveries that he made but because of the example he set for future astronomers and mathematicians, showing that imagination and creativity are some of the most important characteristics that a scientist should possess.

Some important contemporary events in Newton’s lifetime:

  • The Royal Society was Founded – The Royal Society (The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge) is a British organization that was created in 1660 and is still operational today.  The Royal Society’s mission is to act as a hub for scientific inquiry and discovery, commending scientists who make important discoveries while encouraging other scientists and non-scientists to get interested in the multiple fields of science, much like the National Science Foundation in the United States.
  • Robert Hooke Discovers Cells – In 1663, Robert Hooke looked into a microscope and became the first person to view the microscopic units of life we now know to be cells.  Hooke was an avid enthusiast about microscopes, and helped create the first functional and useful microscopes after meticulous testing and building multiple versions of telescopes.

Reflection:

Newton was born into a time when science and math flourished, with new discoveries were made with rapid succession compared to medieval times.  Many incorrect views that were held by millions of people in ancient times were corrected during the scientific revolution, and Isaac Newton arguably contributed the most to this era of enlightenment.  His new views of the solar system and the universe literally pushed the boundaries of knowledge and understanding at the time, discovered many underlying principles of nature, and is even credited with creating calculus.  However, the scientific revolution cannot be diluted down to the history of any one man or woman.  Many scientific legends advanced the sciences and maths during this era in multiple fields of both science and math.  Understanding the workings of nature became somewhat of a healthy obsession to the people of that time, which is reflected in the charter that helped create Britain’s Royal Society, which shortly after employed the likes of Robert Hooke, who in turn refined the microscope and made a multitude of discoveries about the microscopic world.


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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 9, 2014 by claremcdaniel

My chosen historical astronomer was Galileo Galilei. He was born in 1564, died in 1642, and in between, he was raising hell (at least according to the Roman Catholic church).

During Galileo’s lifetime, Guiliano Caccini’s “Euridice” premiered in Florence in 1602, and the word “telescope” was first used in 1611 (pretty relevant, I’d say).

The non-astronomy related historical figure who lived during Galileo’s lifetime whom I chose to research was Louis XIV. Also known as The Sun King, he lived from 1638 to 1715 and reigned from 1643 to 1715. Louis XIV is the man responsible for Versailles, so you know he liked to do it up right. Historically, his reign was incredibly impactful because he ran his court so absurdly lavishly that by the time the infamous queen Marie Antoinette and her husband, Louis XVI, assumed the throne, there was an expected decorum when it came to palace spending, and the attitude of entitlement and disconnectedness it bred was what indirectly brought about the French Revolution.

The most interesting thing about doing this research was being able to connect different historical figures I wasn’t so familiar with to ones that I was, which helped me place everyone on a mental timeline I could better grasp. It made Galileo seem less removed and ancient, because Louis XIV isn’t ancient or removed to me at all, and they were both alive and doing great (and occasionally not so great) things during the same time period.


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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 9, 2014 by almetetj
Image

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection

Astronomer:

Galileo Galilei (February 15, 1564 – January 8, 1642) was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer who made significant scientific strides during his life time. Perhaps the most notable of his accomplishments was his work to advocate a heliocentric solar system through the use of telescopes, a new technology for the time. Galilei improved upon the magnification technology of the time, using the glass lenses he created to observe the sky at up to 20 times magnification. This newly found observation power allowed him to determine that the moon was not perfectly smooth as was previously thought. (Additional Information)

Historical Context:

  1. In 1606 Jamestown, Virginia was established as the first permanent English colony on the American mainland.
  2. In 1631 construction on the Taj Mahal began in India.

Changing Perspective:

William Shakespeare was alive during the time of Galileo Galilei. Although his specific birthdate is unknown, Shakespeare’s baptism was documented to have occurred on April 26, 1564 and his death occurred on April 23 1616. Shakespeare is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language. His plays and works are still studied and performed to this day.

Learning about famous astronomers in this context was interesting because it put the time that their discoveries were occurring into perspective. I didn’t realize how recent most of the astronomical discoveries have been to date. Before, when I pictured the first telescopic discoveries I incorrectly envisioned them occurring at a very culturally primitive time. I now realize that this event, and many other important astronomical discoveries, occurred at the same time that America was first being colonized and Shakespeare was writing his famous plays, which was not that far in the past.


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