![]() The invention of the telescope supercharged astronomy. Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was an early adopter and developer of the technology, which enabled him to make major strides in the understanding of our solar system.Ĭalled "the father of modern science" by no other than the great Albert Einstein, Galileo was able to sketch the surface of the moon, discover the main moons of Jupiter, find sunspots on the sun, and much more, thanks to the telescope. The first true breakthrough in humankind's exploration of the universe, however, arrived with the invention of the telescope in the 17th century (opens in new tab). They also developed new tools for measuring the positions of objects in the sky such as the quadrant and the sextant, according to ESA (opens in new tab). ![]() Islamic scholars kept building on the knowledge of the Ancient Greeks, expanding the catalog introduced by Hipparchus. (Image credit: Frank Vincentz) (opens in new tab) History of astronomy: The arrival of the telescopeĭuring the Middle Ages, the science of astronomy continued to advance in Asia and the Islamic world. The Nebra Disc, estimated to be 3,600 years old, is one of the oldest known artefacts depicting the night sky. He also developed the brightness scale that is still in use today, according to ESA. Aristarchus of Samos (opens in new tab) made the first (highly inaccurate) attempt to calculate the distance of Earth to the sun and moon, and Hipparchus (opens in new tab) sometimes considered the father of empirical astronomy, cataloged the positions of over 800 stars using just the naked eye. In fact, according to the University of Oregon, astronomy can be considered the first science (opens in new tab) as it's the one for which the oldest written records exist.Īncient Greeks elevated sky-watching to a new level. systematically observed and recorded periodical motions of celestial bodies, according to the European Space Agency (opens in new tab) (ESA), and similar records exist also from early China. Art pieces depicting the moon and stars were discovered dating back several thousand years, such as the "world's oldest star map," the bronze-age Nebra disk (opens in new tab).Īncient Assyro-Babylonians around 1,000 B.C. We can guess how drawn our ancestors were to that overwhelming sight from the role that sky-watching played in their lives.Īncient monuments, such as the 5,000 years old Stonehenge (opens in new tab) in the U.K., were built to reflect the journey of the sun in the sky, which helped keep track of time and organize life in an age that solely depended on seasons. ![]() Most of today's citizens of planet Earth live surrounded by the inescapable glow of modern urban lighting and can hardly imagine the awe-inspiring presence of the pristine star-studded sky that illuminated the nights for ancient tribes and early civilizations. It does not store any personal data.Here is how the story of astronomy and our understanding of the universe evolved. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. ![]() The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. ![]() These days, the terms astronomer and astrophysicist are used interchangeably, to talk about any physicist who specializes in celestial bodies and the forces that affect them. Stars also harbor potential planetary systems.Ī scientist who studies the objects in the sky, including planets, galaxies, black holes, and stars, is called an astronomer. They record history and through them, scientists can peer into the deep past of the Universe. For example, they teach us about the processes behind nuclear reactions. Stars contain valuable information about the physics of the Universe. A satellite orbits a planet these objects are also called moons. Planets are moderately large objects orbiting a star. Stars are glowing balls of gas that undergo nuclear fusion the Sun is a star. ![]()
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