The History of Physics is intertwined with the History of Astronomy.

In fact, A
stronomy is a subject area belonging to the broader topic of Physics. Astronomy
is a subset of Physics.
Historically science has its roots in peoples' efforts to understand and explain
the world and the universe around them of which they are a part. While many ob
servations were made about phenomena here on earth, the heavens were also observ
ed. People wanted to know what was going on and why. Their interest was born o
f concern and fear as well as curiosity. They wanted to feel some degree of con
trol of their lives or at least be able to explain what was going on and why.
Our collective knowledge about our environment, the earth and the sky, came abou
t slowly through observation and interpretation of those observations. Knowledg
e was accumulated slowly in different societies and cultures. Sometimes the kno
wledge found was lost and only rediscovered much later. The history of western
civilizationvery much a story of discovery, disagreement, loss, and rediscovery.
Early history of man involves very little ability to investigate more than could
be observed with the senses. This resulted in people making up stories to expl
ain phenomena for which they had no real understanding. This is not unlike stor
ies made up to help little children deal with their every day experiences. Ofte
n adults won't try explain the physics principles behind a thunder stormt to a f
rightened little child, even if they understood it themselves. Instead they mak
e up a cute story to provide the child with something to explain a scary situati
on in terms of something less scary. As an example, in many Christian homes in
western civilization the explanationoften given to little children afraid of thu
nder storms was that the angels were bowling. The noise of the thunder was the
noise of the bowling balls and the lightning was their using light to find the b
all so they wouldn't lose it.This explanation has nothing to do with what is goi
ng on in a thunder storm or what lightning or thunder is. On the other hand it
gives the child comforting information, which they can then use to face the worl
d. This same phenomenon can be seen in ancient civilizations. People attribute
d phenomena to the presence or actions of gods. A close look at ancient civiliz
ations like the Greeks reveals a colorful history filled with such civilizations
and their knowledge, such as the Egyptians, have on forming the thinking of the
se great philosophers and Greek knowledge and society as a whole?" We'll leave
that for you, the reader, to pursue, if you are curious. We'll begin with the G
reeks and the view that came down from Aristotle. His influence was so great th
at it had a major impact on western civilization's philosophy, law, religion (Ch
ristianity), and science, all the way to the present.about gods. All civilizati
ons have their beliefs and mythologies (creation stories) explaining their origi
ns and how the earth and sky came about.
On the other hand, among the people of these civilizations there were some who w
anted to know more. They didn't accept the myths on faith, but chose to investi
gate further. These people wanted to find the truth so they could understand th
e world and the universe better. We find such people among the members of many s
ocieties of which we have knowledge. Collectively, today, we might call such pe
ople scientists, though intheir own times they may not have had that label.
"Historians have a tendency always to go further back. They justify this becaus
e of the belief that one cannot understand what happens at a certain time withou
t understanding the past." (Daniel Barret - from his lecture notes, 1995.)
The study of mathematics and the sciences, particularly astronomy and physics, o
ften begins with the Greeks. There were other civilizations which predate or co
existed around the eastern Mediterranean that had certain knowledge of these sub
jects, but in a short review of events such as this page, only some of the most
significant people and events are mentioned. The most famous of the Greek philo
sophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are often quoted or paraphrased, because
it is these three that are seen as having a most significant impact on the devel

opment of western civilization. What is a curious question is "What influence d

id other
At the time, the known planets from the sun outwards were:
1 Mercury
2 Venus
3 Earth
4 Mars
5 Jupiter
6 Saturn
Mercury
>
Venus
>
Earth
>
Mars
>
Jupiter
Saturn

octahedron
icosahedron
dodecahedron
tetrahedron
> cube