Exam Review Essay

Ancient Greek astronomers made some amazing mathematical and philosophical discovers about our universe. From the Hellenistic Greek observations in approximately 300 B.C.E., to the invention of the first telescope in the seventeenth century, to the launching of today’s space probes, one thing is evident: astrological observations are imperative to creating a calendar.

Aristotle’s model by today’s standards can easily be picked apart, but at the time, it was the best explanation that could be made with so little technology and insight. Although his theories have long since been replaced, they created a base for future scientists to work off of and challenge. Over time many great scientists began to question Aristotle’s theories. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), for example, contested the absolute significance of the earth, and he did not agree that it should be viewed as the center of the entire universe (Lizhi & Youquan, 1987). He plotted the earth at the center of the universe and created a heliocentric system just as mathematically complicated as the Ptolemaic system (one that also improved on Aristotle’s), but it explained a number of anomalies, including resolving the issue of retrograde motion (Ede, A. & Cormack, L., 2004). The problem was that Aristotle’s physics of ‘natural motion’ fell apart without the earth in the center of everything.

It is believed to be an astronomical clock used for agricultural. This theory is accurate when considering the other archaeological finds when surveying the area in which it was found. Some notable examples are the Stonehenge and Newgrange. Both use the solstices to predict correct planting and harvesting times. As the Bronze Age was an agricultural moment, the people livelihoods were based and surrounded by the agriculture system. The Nebra Sky Disk was later discovered to be an astronomical device in which it acted as a lunar calendar which is based on the phases of the moon. However, the lunar calendars had an issue of not being in sync. The synchronisation of the seasons was vital for the survival for agriculture. The Nebra sky disk was use to decide when an intercalary month should be added the lunar calendar. This finding had baffled researchers and archaeologist because the concept of intercalary months was not to be discussed until the time of the Mesopotamians, one thousand years later. The esteemed knowledge that Bronze Age people had shown through with the knowledge of harmonization of solar and lunar calendars. Babylonian documents contain a calculation that depicts the crescent moon on the Nebra Sky disk. Per Babylonian rule, an intercalary month should be added when the moon is in conjunction with the Pleiades constellation. So, the disk was put up the sky and if the sky match the desk, they would then add an intercalary

There were significant changes in science, such as the substitution of the Copernican for the Ptolemaic system of astronomy.

1) Modern astronomy basically begins with the re-emergence of the heliocentric view of the universe by Copernicus.   Who were the four other major contributors to the development of modern astronomy after Copernicus?  Explain what those contributions were.  Finally, why did it take so long for the geocentric view of the universe to be overthrown and what does that tell us about scientific research and our society, even today?

All his writings consisted of numerous references to God. He saw his work as a fulfilment of his Christian duty to understand the works of God. Kepler believed that God had made the Universe according to a mathematical plan. Although, Kepler did thank God for granting him insights, but the insights were still presented as rational. While studying theology at the university at Tubingen, he fell under the influence of Michael Mastlin. He then abandoned theology and became a teacher of astronomy and mathematics in Austria. Johannes Kepler’s work illustrated the narrow line that would separate magic and science in the early Scientific Revolution. Kepler compared numerical relationships between planets in harmony of the human soul. He described it as discovering the "music of the spheres." Overtime, Johannes Kepler devised the three laws of planetary motion. He confirmed Copernicus' heliocentric theory, and eliminated the scientific possibility of crystalline spheres moving in perfectly circular orbits. Eventually, Johannes Kepler’s three laws affected the eliminated idea of uniform circular motion. By the end of Kepler’s life, the Ptolemaic system rapidly lost its ground to the new ideas. Many questions do remain unanswered. However, it was an Italian scientist who achieved an important break through to a new cosmology by answering the first question and striding through the

When it comes to theories and law’s concerning the movement of stellar bodies and why the universe is moving the way it is and how it came to be, data is continuously being added and revised. It is through this constant revising of theories and establishing of laws that core ideas are proven, with modern day scientists expanding knowledge for the rest of us. One of the earliest pioneers of spatial theories was the Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei, who used the theories of those who came before and he learned from to paint a better picture of the way the universe was set. True to form, he dealt with accusations of heresy and resistance to his ideas from others during his life, which today are held as being before his time.

When Tycho went to Germany he met some amateur astronomers who were very rich. They studied together for a long time. Their problem was they didn't have a very accurate way to observe the sky. This led them to make a large quadrant of a circle with a 19 foot radius! It took them over 20 men to build it! The quadrant was set so they could make observations through an open window. They also had several clocks all being used one after another to make the observations as precise as they possibly could. Then in 1570, after spending years in Germany with fellow astronomers, he returned home to

Astronomers throughout history have contributed to and influenced the advancements made in the study of the stars, moons, and planets. One man who played a vital role in these advancements was born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, but known as Tycho Brahe. His precise examination of the solar system solidified more accurate findings about the galaxy, including that of the nova, longitude coordinates, and the planetary coordinates.

The Ptolemaic view of the motions of the stars was earth centric, or geocentric. Ptolemy believed that all the planets revolved around the earth, the earth was the center of the universe. Copernicus on the other hand held the belief that the universe revolved around the sun, or that the universe was heliocentric. Copernicus also only considered there to only be six planets, as he didn’t count the moon like Ptolemy. Kepler held similar beliefs t Copernicus, and believed that the reason why a god-created universe only had six planets instead of seven was based on Plato’s idea of the five Platonic Solids. That just like there are only five forms of matter and five platonic solids, the universe must have been intelligently created in a similar

When he realized that the stars were actually going around Jupiter, it negated a major argument of the Ptolemaic model. Not only did this mean that the Earth could not be the only center of motion, but also it knocked a hole in another argument. The supporters of the Ptolemaic model argued that if the Earth were moving through space, the Moon would be left behind. Galileo’s observations showed that the moons of Jupiter were not being left behind as Jupiter moved.” Galileo is trying to explain how god had created the heaven in the heliocentric way since it was in the other way everything would not follow earth like the moon.

Many of those who have begun to study astronomy have surely heard of Tycho Brahe—the brilliant, but eccentric whose observations would have gone to waste due to his supposed inability to give them a purpose—and of Johannes Kepler—that divine, inexhaustible mathematician. However, Owen Gingerich and Richard R. Voelkel argue that much of these stories are simply that—stories—and thus take it upon themselves to uncover what parts of the story of Tycho and Kepler can be shown as truth, and which parts are merely legend. Breaking down their article into segments pertaining to the greatest endeavors of Tycho and Kepler, Gingerich and Voelkel create their argument by presenting each astronomers blunders, brilliant moments, and bumbling contradictions.

He played a vital role in the development of various astronomical instruments. Brahe is also known for his precise and comprehensive astronomical planetary observations, which heavily influenced future discoveries.He made accurate and precise astronomical observations for his times, even without the help of the telescope. Brahe was an active participant to the debates on the nature of the Universe. Although better known as a famed astronomer, Tycho Brahe also played a crucial role in the development of geodesy and cartography. Brahe died in 1601 at the age of 54. While attending a banquet, societal customs did not allow him to excuse himself before his host.

In 1963, British astronomer Gerald Hawkins published an article in Nature, followed by a book, Stonehenge Decoded, and proposed a hypothesis for at least one purpose of this ancient monument. Standing in the center of Stonehenge, Hawkins recognized twenty-four lines of sight amongst the stones, and later discovered that these lines pointed to significant astronomical events. The most famous of these are the alignments that point to the spot on the horizon on which the sun rises on the summer and winter solstices; but there were many lines pointing to the rising and setting of the full moon near to those dates as well. Hawkins discovered that Stonehenge was not only a religious site, but also an “astronomical observatory” and calendar. Stonehenge was a device by which the builders could tell, on an annual basis, when Earth arrived at a certain point in its orbit around the sun. (Trefil

Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer and mathematician who lived between 1671-1630. Kepler was a Copernican and initially believed that planets should follow perfectly circular orbits (“Johan Kepler” 1). During this time period, Ptolemy’s geocentric theory of the solar system was accepted. Ptolemy’s theory stated that Earth is at the center of the universe and stationary; closest to Earth is the Moon, and beyond it, expanding towards the outside, are Mercury, Venus, and the Sun in a straight line, followed by Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the “fixed stars”. The Ptolemaic system explained the numerous observed motions of the planets as having small spherical orbits called epicycles (“Astronomy” 2). Kepler is best known for introducing three