Tag Archives: history

A Brief History Lesson

Posted on February 14, 2017 by liuy54

Most people, when hearing the phrase, “history of astronomy,” probably immediately envision the Stonehenge, or some ancient relic that had to do with the alignment of the stars. However, many seem to forget, or ignore the fact that up until very recently (some 500 years ago),  there were great debates on the different models of […] Continue reading →

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Archaeoastronomy: The Anthropology of Astronomy

Posted on February 5, 2017 by brynnabhall

On the Center for Archaeoastrony’s website, they differentiate their science as “the anthropology of astronomy” rather than “the history of astronomy.” By studying the influences that astronomy has had (frequently, it seems, through the study of archaeological sites) on the humans and cultures who were studying the stars and attempting to reason with that which … More Archaeoastronomy: The Anthropology of Astronomy Continue reading →

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Our Miniature History, the Cosmic Calendar, and Understanding One’s Place

Posted on February 2, 2017 by brynnabhall

When considering the greater span of history, starting with my first Astronomy class taught by Professor Weintraub “How Old Is the Universe?” the concept of the nature of time in space has fascinated me. I think part of this relates to the fact that I am a history major and a history buff, and therefore … More Our Miniature History, the Cosmic Calendar, and Understanding One’s Place Continue reading →

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Historical Astronomers in Context: Copernicus

Posted on February 9, 2016 by lindseynestor

  Nicolaus Copernicus (February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) Historical events in the time of Copernicus: In 1492, when Copernicus was 19 years old, Columbus “sailed the ocean blue” from Spain and discovered America – specifically, the Caribbean islands. In 1506, when Copernicus was 33, construction began on St. Peter’s Church in Rome (and […] Continue reading →

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Tycho and His Universe

Posted on February 9, 2016 by briannagalgano

Tycho Brahe made many important contributions to astronomy in a variety of ways. He made regular observations of the heavens and tabulated that information so that other scientists (like Kepler) could use them. He engineered and calibrated his own instruments. Brahe also theorized–he made his own solar system model that incorporated both Copernicus’ and Ptolemy’s […] Continue reading →

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SCED: The Science of Perspectivism

Posted on February 6, 2016 by evinske

Hey guys! Rani and I have been talking a lot about perspective for this week’s blog. First, I wanted to think about the place historical context holds in a STEM course similar to this one. Dr. G mentioned last Tuesday that our lecture about historic science (Copernicus, Tycho, Gallileo, etc.) would likely be the last […] Continue reading →

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Eclipses Throughout History

Posted on January 26, 2016 by astr2110geoffren

Eclipse science! You’re just mowing grass one day and the sun disappears. You look up and see an eclipse. Today, people would just brush it off for the most part. There would be some oohs and ahhs, but most people would just treat it like any other day and probably forget about the occurrence a […] Continue reading →

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Cosmic Calendar

Posted on January 26, 2016 by samanthas25

The history of our Universe is extremely vast, and therefore might at times be a bit difficult to comprehend. In order to better take a look at the expansive history of the Universe, we can condense the large time period onto a single calendar year. This allows us to really grasp the amount of time […] Continue reading →

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Ancient Astronomers and the Zodiac

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Michaela Thomas

  We’ve learned that the zodiac constellations are connected to the position of the Sun as it moves along its path. The sun spends about a month closest to each of these constellations, or “in” the constellation, and then moves on to the next. Ancient Greek and Babylonian people groups named the constellations and defined […] Continue reading →

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Ancient Astronomers and the Zodiac

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Michaela Thomas

  We’ve learned that the zodiac constellations are connected to the position of the Sun as it moves along its path. The sun spends about a month closest to each of these constellations, or “in” the constellation, and then moves on to the next. Ancient Greek and Babylonian people groups named the constellations and defined …

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