How Astronomy Began
July 3rd, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you’ve a fervour for star gazing, telescopes, the Hubble and the universe and this thing we call “astronomy”, you’re much from alone. Naturally, we know that astronomy is a very respected science which has produced some of the most amazing accomplishments of the twentieth century. On top of that, it is a thriving area of obsession and one of the most enthralling hobby areas going with thousands of astronomy clubs and many thousands of thousands of amateur astronomers watching the stars consistently just like we do.
But did you aware that astronomy is an example of the oldest and most respected sciences of them all? As far back as before the times of Christ, the wise and thinking folks of societies of the time were looking at the stars and finding ways to track and chart them. We who love the pastime of astronomy can chart a proud history of astronomers that tracks across millennia and thru just about each culture in civilization. So for the sake of having some actually good trivialities to toss around at astronomy club the week after next, let’s highlight some of the large moments in the history of astronomy.
For many centuries the science of astronomy wasn’t distinct from the practice of astrology. For clarity, astronomy is the study of the stars, planets, and the universe with an obviously systematic approach. Astrology is the study of the zodiac signs and how they influence our growth, our personalities and our daily lives. In modern times, we as folk of science discount the astrological side and target the astronomy of the heavens. But they were one study for millennia before the age of science made them separate.
There is historical evidence that astronomy was a recognized science as far back as the Babylonian civilization hundreds of years before Christ. But the study of the stars was not limited to one country. There were similar movements going on in China, India, and Ancient Egypt and all over the Arabian Peninsula. The integration of astronomy and religion is so prevalent that we see it in the Christmas story in which the Magi, Zoroastrian priesthood probably from the equivalent of traditional Syria, followed a star to the Christ kid. These astronomers were also astrologers and it was that mixture that lead them to be a this consequential event.
The first book on astronomy was written by Ptolemy during the Greek empire. Since that important publication, the who’s who list of great astronomers charts a path right thru the center of modern science including Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Sir Issac Newton, Jung, Michelangelo, Benjamin Franklin and more lately even Einstein and Stephen Hawkings would join that noble list. It looked that from the renaissance on to this day, just about any man or lady intellect experimented in astronomy at least rather and it’s usually been considered an indication of the learned to understand about the universe and things astronomical.
Astronomy has had an impact on so many areas of our lives that we really don’t recognize. Many words in our language had their roots in astronomy such as:
* Influenza which comes from the Latin root word for influence. This reflects an early belief that the position of the moon and stars may influence health and cause or cure disease.
* Disaster which comes from the Latin for “bad star”.
* Lunatic which has the root word “Luna” in it which is the Latin word for moon. This illuminates the long held belief that is even prevalent today that irrational behavior and even wild and dangerous things happen in a full moon.
Astronomy and its interrelationship with astrology has also influenced culture, education and religion to a very large extent over the centuries. In the English language, the 1st a couple of days or our week, Sunday and Monday are a reference to astronomy as their literal interpretations would be “The Day of the Sun” and “The Day of the Moon.”
So if you have found astronomy becoming a consuming passion in your thoughts and what fascinates you about the world we live in, you are in great company as this area of study has been a major part of culture and thought virtually since the dawn of civilization. And it will continue to fascinate mankind for as long as those beautiful stars shine over our heads.
What is the biggest known planet in our galaxy? Visit planet-facts.com to compare the nine planets in our solar system. You might also want to take a look at solar sytem.
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About Astronomy Fun Facts
July 1st, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
For many people astronomy is an interesting science filled with many astronomy fun facts. Everything from the size and temperature of our own star, the Sun, to the makeup of distant planets is recorded. All of this information can be recalled to entertain and enlighten people.
The Sun is a great source of astronomy fun facts. Measurements show it between 91 and 94.5 million miles from Earth. Scientists are not lazy. The Earth’s orbit isn’t circular. The distance between us grows larger and smaller throughout the year.
The size of our son also provides many astronomy fun facts. It’s contains 98% of all the stuff in the solar system, even though it’s not large for a star. Everything else, counting the earth and all the planets, is a tiny 2%. It would take about 100 Earths to make it across this average sun. An AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. The solar winds extend 50 AU’s from the sun.
What about astronomy fun facts that don’t have to do with the sun? How about the moon? It’s the only non-Earth object upon which man has walked. And one human man actually traveled to the moon but never left it. Dr. Eugene Shoemaker loved the moon but was rejected as an astronaut. After his death he was cremated and his ashes scattered over the moon by the Lunar Prospector spacecraft in 1999.
There are more astronomy fun facts about the moon. It’s the site of what may become the oldest footprint. Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap for mankind” left a print in the moon dust that will like still be there in 10 million years. Many people, in fact about 13% of those asked in 1988, still believe the moon is made of cheese. And finally the suits worn by the moon walking astronauts weighed 180 pounds on Earth but only 30 pounds on the moon. Talk about an instant diet.
Fun facts about astronomy aren’t limited to our close neighbors. Looking at stars is like looking into the past. Some of the stars we see today in the night sky are so far away that light takes a million years to reach us from them. Some of those stars you see may really be images of stars a million years old that aren’t even there in the present. There are over 1 x 10 ^22 stars in the universe. That’s a 1 followed by 22 zeros. The number is staggering.
Astronomy fun facts can go on forever. But this article can’t. So get out there and learn about astronomy.
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Astronomy Facts - A Closer Look
June 29th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
There must be a lot of astronomy facts right? Realize that the universe contains one times 10 to the 22nd stars, that’s a one followed by a string of 22 zeros. Then consider that many of those stars have planets surrounding them. Then consider the moons that surround the planets, the asteroids, the nebula, the galaxies, and all the other stuff the universe contains. That’s a lot of data and facts and figures. This article, which presents astronomy facts, certainly won’t contain every astronomy fact. But these are interesting facts.
The data on the brightest star as seen from Earth are good astronomy facts. Let’s ignore the sun, it’s too close. The sun is so bright that it washes out all of the other stars in the daylight sky. Keep in mind that in the scale for the magnitudes given, lower numbers are brighter. The sun would be about -26.73, while the full moon is -12.6. With that in mind, here are the top 5.
#5 is Vega, which means eagle or vulture in Arabic. It’s about 25 light years away from the Earth, with a magnitude of .03. When looking at these astronomy facts remember that brightest from Earth doesn’t mean largest or brightest. The Sun is not the largest or brightest star in the universe or even the galaxy, yet it appears so bright because it is so near compared to other stars.
#4 is Rigel Kentaurus, that’s Arabic for foot of the centaur. It’s about four light years from Earth with a magnitude of -.01.
At #3, remember this is set in stone as one of the many astronomy facts we have, is Arcturus. In Greek that means guardian of the bear. It’s 37 light-years distant from our home on Earth.
Canopus comes in at #2. Of these top five Canopus, a Greek name for the pilot of the vessel Argo made famous in the stories about Jason and the Argonauts, is the brightest. But it’s 313 light years from Earth so it’s just second on this list as seen from Earth. It has a -.62 magnitude as seen by humans on this planet.
#1 is reserved for serious, meaning scorching in the Greek language. Sirius is also known as the Dog Star because it’s the brightest star in the constellation of Big Dog. It’s only 9 light years from Earth. That’s second closest of these top five. But from Earth it has a magnitude of -1.44. That makes it easily the brightest star as seen in the night sky.
This information doesn’t even scratch the surface of astronomy facts. But it’s something to consider next time you look into the sky.
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