Tag Archives: Historical

archaeoastronomy

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Emma Williams

Astronomy hasn’t always been practiced the way that it is today! For many centuries, different civilizations have conceptualized the universe in a wide range of ways covering the entire spectrums of science and mythology– from this, at the intersection of astronomy and anthropology, the field of archaeoastronomy was born! The field began with the discovery […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 1, 2023 by berlinbe

Nicholas Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who was born on February 19,1473 and died on May 24, 1543. Copernicus was important to astronomy because he formulated and popularized the idea that the Sun, rather than the Earth, was the center of the “universe.” He also accurately described how Earth’s rotation was the cause of sunrise […] Continue reading →

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historical astronomers in context

Posted on January 30, 2023 by Emma Williams

Johannes Kepler (born December 27, 1571– died November 15, 1630) contributed to the field of astronomy by the formulation of his 3 Laws of Planetary Motion, which were later derived and formalized by Isaac Newton. The laws are 1) that planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun at one focal point, 2) that a […] Continue reading →

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blog post 06

Posted on April 17, 2022 by graceward02

In 2019, researchers captured the first image of a black hole. They were able to do this by having all the major radio telescopes on Earth act together to simulate a radio telescope that was the size of Earth. Before this, we could only see indirect evidence of the existence of black holes. This particular […] Continue reading →

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blog post 05

Posted on April 17, 2022 by graceward02

In 2006, Pluto was taken off the list of planets, leaving our Solar System with just 8 planets. This demotion occurred 76 years after Pluto was initially added to the list of planets. This decision by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined what objects could be classified as a planet. An object needs to be […] Continue reading →

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blog post 02

Posted on February 21, 2022 by graceward02

NASA’s James Webb Telescope was launched on December 25, 2021. It is a collaborative effort between NASA (United States), The European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. This telescope has four main areas where its data will be used: considering the first light in the universe, early assembly of galaxies in the universe, birth […] Continue reading →

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Historical Vanderbilt Astronomer

Posted on February 20, 2022 by AndreaS

If you have spent much time in E. Bronson Ingram residential college on Vanderbilt’s campus, you may have noticed that part of the dorm is named after one Edward Emerson Barnard. As it turns out, Barnard was an astronomer who attended the university from 1883-1887. His research focused on observation and photography of stars and […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2022 by ccatanese1

Nicolaus Copernicus (February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) is very well-known for his heliocentric theory which postulated that the sun is the center of the solar system. It had been widely believed that the earth was the center of the universe and it wasn’t until Copernicus that this belief began to shift. Initially the […] Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Posted on February 10, 2022 by AndreaS

In this post we will be discussing Galileo Galilei in context of his historical era. But first, a little detail about Galilei himself. Galileo Galilei is notable for his astronomical work with the telescope. Using the apparatus that could magnify objects to 20 times their size, he was able to observe the surface of the […] Continue reading →

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Johannes Kepler: Context

Posted on February 9, 2022 by solarelizabeth

Johannes Kepler was born December 27, 1571 and died November 15, 1630. Johannes Kepler, continuing Brahe’s work, discovered that planetary orbits are ellipses with varying levels of eccentricity instead of perfect circles. This helped him predict planetary positions and discover three laws of planetary motion. Kepler’s discoveries helped solidify the theory that planets move around […] Continue reading →

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