Tag Archives: HW6

Blast from the Past: Historical Astronomers in Context

A) Galileo Galilei (Feb 16th, 1564-Jan 8th, 1642) is an important astronomer for two reasons: his inventions and his discoveries.  Although he did not invent the telescope, Galileo made the first 30x-magnifying telescope that was used to observe land, sea, and … Continue reading Continue reading

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) Johannes Kepler Bio Figured out how to explain the motions of the planets. Figured this out with three laws: 1) Planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun with the sun positioned at one of … Continue reading Continue reading

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Johannes he-was-so-awesome Kepler

Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630) played a huge role in the scientific revolution of the late 16th and 17th centuries. Initially hired by Brahe to make sense of his observations of planetary movements, Kepler went on to prove that planetary orbits are not circles but ellipses. He investigated further and soon […] Continue reading

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Historical Astronomers in Context

Newton: 1642-1727 Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity radically changed our perspective of the Earth and our Moon’s orbit.  Although many scientists before Newton had discredited Aristotle’s theory on a geo-centric universe, the understanding of gravity was the cherry on top … Continue reading Continue reading

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Copernicus-Historical Astronomers in Context

Basic Facts: Name: Nicholas Copernicus Birth: February 19, 1473 Death: May 24, 1543 Nicholas Copernicus played a crucial role in the development of modern astronomical theory with his monumental proposal of the Copernican system (also known as the heliocentric system). While the heliocentric model was not his idea originally (this is an idea that originally belonged […] Continue reading

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Hypatia – Historical Astronomers in Context

<note to students: I went farther than you need to because no one can use Hypatia as their historical figure> Hypatia was the first woman KNOWN to contribute to mathematics and science.  Her father, Theon of Alexandria, was a well-known academic and taught his daughter to follow in his footsteps.  Remarkably, she was the head […] Continue reading

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