History of Astronomy

Early Man -> little recorded information on early man's impression of the heavens, some drawings of
eclipses, comets, supernovae such as the Pueblo Petrograph. Early man was frightened/overwhelmed by
the sky.
The earliest recorded astronomical observation is the Nebra sky disk from northern Europe dating
approximately 1,600 BC (see above). This 30 cm bronze disk depicts the Sun, a lunar crescent and stars
(including the Pleiades star cluster). The disk is probably a religious symbol as well as a crude
astronomical instrument or calendar. In the Western hemisphere, similar understanding of basic stellar
and planetary behavior was developing. For example, Native American culture around the same time
were leaving rock drawings, or petroglyphs, of astronomical phenomenon. The clearest example is
found below, a petroglyph which depicts the 1,006 AD supernova that resulted in the Crab Nebula.
Early man also believed that the heavens held power over earthy existence (psychology of the unknown)
-> origins of astrology as an attempt to understand, predict and influence events
The earliest written records (i.e. history) were astronomical observations - Babylonians (~1600 B.C.)
recorded position of planets, times of eclipses, etc. - also evidence from early Chinese, Central American
and North European cultures such as Stonehenge, which is a big computer for calculating the position of
planets and the Sun (i.e. when to have that big blowout Solstice thing)
-> thus, Astronomy was the 1st science

Later in history, 5,000 to 20,000 years ago, humankind begins to organize themselves and develop what
we now call culture. A greater sense of permanence in your daily existences leads to the development of
myths, particularly creation myths to explain the origin of the Universe.
Most myths maintain supernatural themes, with gods, divine and semi-divine figures, but there was
usually an internal logical consistence to the narrative. Myths are often attempts at a rational
explanation of the everyday world, their goal is to teach. Even if we consider some of the stories to be
ridiculous, they were, in some sense, our first scientific theories. They also closely follow a particular
religion, and this time is characterized by a close marriage of science and religion.
Hellenistic Culture (~500 B.C.):
The ancient Greeks inherited astronomical records from the Babylonians and applied the data to
construct a cosmological framework. Data was not just used for practical goals, such as navigation, but
also to think of new experiments = natural philosopher.

Thales (~480 B.C.) used this data to predict eclipses.

Between the cosmological foundation set by the Presocratics and the world of Ideas introduced by Plato
was a set of fundamental calculations on the size of the Earth, Moon, Sun and the distances between
the nearby planets performed by Eratosthenes and Aristarchus (c. 250 BC). Using some simple
geometry, these two natural philosophers were able to, for the first time, place some estimate of the
size of the cosmos in Earth terms.

For a long time it was realized that the earth's surface was curved by people familiar with the behavior
of incoming and outgoing ships. For it was obvious that as a ship passed over the horizon, the hull
disappeared first, then the topmost sailing masts (although one could argue this is an effect of refraction
in the atmosphere). Ancient astronomers could see with their eyes that the Sun and the Moon were
round. And the shadow of the Earth, cast on the lunar surface during a lunar eclipse, is curved. A sphere
is the simplest shape to explain the Earth's shadow (a disk would sometimes display a shadow shaped
like a line or oval).
Eratosthenes used a spherical Earth model, and some simple geometry, to calculate its circumference.
Eratosthenes knows that on a special day (the summer solstice) at noon in the Egyptian city of Syene, a
stick placed in the ground will cast no shadow (i.e., it is parallel to the Sun's rays). A stick in the ground
at Alexandria, to the north, will cast a shadow at an angle of 7 degrees. Eratosthenes realizes that the
ratio of a complete circle (360 degrees) to 7 degrees is the same as the ratio of the circumference of the
Earth to the distance from Alexandria to Swenet. Centuries of surveying by Egyptian pharaohs scribes
gave him the distance between the two cities of 4900 stadia, approximately 784 kilometers. This
resulting in a circumference of 40,320 kilometers, which is amazingly close to the modern value of
40,030 kilometers. With this calculation, Eratosthenes becomes the father of geography eventually
drawing up the first maps of the known world and determining the size of the most fundamental object
in the Universe, our own planet.
Hipparchus (100 B.C.) produced first star catalog and recorded the names of constellations.

There were only seven objects visible to the ancients, the Sun and the Moon, plus the five planets,
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It was obvious that the planets were not on the celestial
sphere since the Moon clearly passes in front of the Sun and planets, plus Mercury and Venus can be
seen to transit the Sun. Plato first proposed that the planets followed perfect circular orbits around the
Earth. Later, Heraclides (330 B.C.) developed the first Solar System model, placing the planets in order
from the Earth it was is now called the geocentric solar system model and the beginning of the
geocentric versus heliocentric debate.

Note that orbits are perfect circles (for philosophical reasons = all things in the Heavens are "perfect")
Slightly later, Aristarchus (270 B.C.) proposed an alternative model of the Solar System placing the Sun
at the center with the Earth and the planets in circular orbit around it. The Moon orbits around the
Earth. This model became known as the heliocentric theory
Aristarchus was the first to propose a Sun centered cosmology and one of the primary objections to the
heliocentric model is that the stars display no parallax (the apparent shift of nearby stars on the sky due
to the Earth's motion around the Sun). However, Aristarchus believed that the stars were very distant
and, thus, display parallax's that are too small to be seen with the eye (in fact, the first parallax will not
by measured until 1838 by Friedrich Bessel). The Sun is like the fixed stars, states Aristarchus, unmoving
on a sphere with the Sun at its center. For Aristarchus it was absurd that the "Hearth" of the sky, the
Sun, should move and eclipses are easy to explain by the motion of the Moon around the Earth.
Problems for Heliocentric Theory:

While today we know that the Sun is at the center of the solar system, this was not obvious for the
technology of the times per-1500's. In particular, Aristarchus' model was ruled out by the philosophers
at the time for three reasons:

Earth in orbit around Sun means that the Earth is in motion. Before the discovery of Newton's law of
motion, it was impossible to imagine motion without being able to `feel' it. Clearly, no motion is
detected (although trade winds are due to the Earth's rotation).
If the Earth undergoes a circular orbit, then nearby stars would have a parallax. A parallax is an apparent
shift in the position of nearby stars relative to distant stars.

Of course, if all the stars are implanted on the crystal celestial sphere, then there is no parallax.

Lastly, geocentric ideas seem more `natural' to a philosopher. Earth at the center of the Universe is a
very ego-centric idea, and has an aesthetic appeal.
Ptolemy (200 A.D.) was an ancient astronomer, geographer, and mathematician who took the
geocentric theory of the solar system and gave it a mathematical foundation (called the "Ptolemaic
system"). He did this in order to simultaneously produce a cosmological theory based on Aristotle's
physics (circular motion, no voids, geocentric) and one that would provide a technically accurate
description of planetary astronomy. Ptolemy's system is one of the first examples of scientists
attempting to "save the phenomena", to develop a combination of perfect circles to match the irregular
motion of the planets, i.e., using concepts asserted by pure reason that match the observed
phenomenon.
Ptolemy wrote a great treatise on the celestial sphere and the motion of the planets call the Almagest.
The Almagest is divided into 13 books, each of which deals with certain astronomical concepts
pertaining to stars and to objects in the solar system. It was, no doubt, the encyclopedic nature of the
work that made the Almagest so useful to later astronomers and that gave the views contained in it so
profound an influence. In essence, it is a synthesis of the results obtained by Greek astronomy; it is also
the major source of knowledge about the work of Hipparchus.

The Christian Aristotelian cosmos, engraving from Peter Apian's Cosmographia, 1524

In the first book of the Almagest, Ptolemy describes his geocentric system and gives various arguments
to prove that, in its position at the center of the universe, the Earth must be immovable. Not least, he
showed that if the Earth moved, as some earlier philosophers had suggested, then certain phenomena
should in consequence be observed. In particular, Ptolemy argued that since all bodies fall to the center
of the universe, the Earth must be fixed there at the center, otherwise falling objects would not be seen
to drop toward the center of the Earth. Again, if the Earth rotated once every 24 hours, a body thrown
vertically upward should not fall back to the same place, as it was seen to do. Ptolemy was able to
demonstrate, however, that no contrary observations had ever been obtained.

Ptolemy accepted the following order for celestial objects in the solar system: Earth (center), Moon,
Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. However, when the detailed observations of the planets
in the skies is examined, the planets undergo motion which is impossible to explain in the geocentric
model, a backward track for the outer planets. This behavior is called retrograde motion.

The solution to retrograde motion was to use a system of circles on circles to explain the orbits of the
planets called epicycles and deferents. The main orbit is the deferent, the smaller orbit is the epicycle.
Although only one epicycle is shown in the figure below, over 28 were required to explain the actual
orbits of the planets.

In the Ptolemaic system, deferents were large circles centered on the Earth, and epicycles were small
circles whose centers moved around the circumferences of the deferents. The Sun, Moon, and planets
moved around the circumference of their own epicycles. In the movable eccentric, there was one circle;
this was centered on a point displaced from the Earth, with the planet moving around the
circumference. These were mathematically equivalent schemes.

Although Ptolemy realized that the planets were much closer to the Earth than the "fixed" stars, he
seems to have believed in the physical existence of crystalline spheres, to which the heavenly bodies
were said to be attached. Outside the sphere of the fixed stars, Ptolemy proposed other spheres, ending
with the primum mobile ("prime mover"), which provided the motive power for the remaining spheres
that constituted his conception of the universe. His resulting solar system model looked like the
following, although the planets had as many as 28 epicycles to account for all the details of their motion.

This model, while complicated, was a complete description of the Solar System that explained, and
predicted, the apparent motions of all the planets. The Ptolemic system began the 1st mathematical
paradigm or framework for our understanding of Nature.
Alexandria burns, Roman culture collapses, Dark Ages... but the Roman Catholic Church absorbs
Aristotle's scientific methods and Ptolemy's model into its own doctrine. Thus, preserving the scientific
method and Ptolemy's Solar System until the...

The Renaissance, where new ideas were more important than dogma.

As we know from history, the great library at Alexandria burns in 272 AD, destroying a great deal of the
astronomical data for the time. Roman culture collapses and we enter the Dark Ages. But, the Roman
Catholic Church absorbs Aristotle's scientific methods and Ptolemy's model into its own doctrine. Thus,
preserving the scientific method and Ptolemy's Solar System. Unfortunately, the geocentric model was
accepted as doctrine and, therefore, was not subjected to the scientific method for hundreds of years.

Copernicus (1500's) reinvented the heliocentric theory and challenged Church doctrine. Copernicus (c.
1520) was not the first astronomer to challenge the geocentric model of Ptolemy, but he was the first to
successfully formulate a heliocentric model and publish his model. He was able to overcome centuries of
resistance to the heliocentric model for a series of political and scientific reasons. Politically, the
authority of the Church was weakening in Northern Europe in the 15th century allowing more diversity
in scientific thinking (although the new Protestant faiths were also not quick to embrace the heliocentric
model). Scientifically, a better understanding of motion (particularly inertia) was undermining the whole
concept of an unmoving Earth. A rotating Earth is a much simpler explanation for the durnal motion of
stars, an Earth that rotates is only one step away from an Earth that revolves around the Sun. The
heliocentric model had a greater impact than simply an improvement to solve retrograde motion. By
placing the Sun at the center of the Solar System, Copernicus forced a change in our worldview =
paradigm shift or science revolution.

Copernicus began his quest for an improved solar system model with some basic principles. Foremost
was the postulate that the Earth was not the center of the Universe, only the center of local gravity and
the Moon. Second, the postulate that the Sun was the center of the solar system, all planets revolved
around the Sun. In this fashion, retrograde motion is not cause by the planets themselves, but rather by
the orbit of the Earth.
While Copernicus includes a rotating Earth in his heliocentric model, he continues to cling to Aristotle's
celestial motions, i.e. orbits that are perfect circles (rather than their true shape, an ellipse). This forces
Copernicus to adopt a series of moving sphere's for each planet to explain longitude motion. While
Copernicus has fewer sphere's, since more of the retrograde motion is accounted for, his system is still
extremely complicated in a computational sense. It's two greatest advantages is that it places the
inferior planets near the Sun, naturally explaining their lack of large eastern or western elongations, and
removing any extreme motions, such as that needed to explain durnal changes.

Copernicus also changes the immovable empyrean heaven into a fixed sphere of stars, severing theology
from cosmology. However, Copernicus fails to produce a mechanically simple scheme for astrologers to
cast horoscopes or astronomers to produce almanacs, for ultimately the tables he produces are as
complicated as Ptolemy's and he did not publish all his results in the final edition of his work, "On the
Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres".

However, Copernicus, like Ptolemy, also used circular orbits and had to resort to epicycles and deferents
to explain retrograde motions. In fact, Copernicus was forced to use more epicycles than Ptolemy, i.e. a
more complicated system of circles on circles. Thus, Copernicus' model would have failed our modern
criteria that a scientific model be as simple as possible (Occam's Razor).

Tycho Brahe (1580's) was astronomy's 1st true observer. He built the Danish Observatory (using
sextant's since telescopes had not been invented yet) from which he measured positions of planets and
stars to the highest degree of accuracy for that time period (1st modern database). He showed that the
Sun was much farther than the Moon from the Earth, using simple trigonometry of the angle between
the Moon and the Sun at 1st Quarter.

The Earth's motion, as a simple matter of dynamics, was extremely perplexing to the medieval thinker.
The size and mass of the Earth was approximately known since Eratosthenes had measured the
circumference of the Earth (thus, the volume is known and one could simply multiple the volume with
the mean density of rock to obtain a rough mass estimate). The force required to move the Earth
seemed impossible to the average medieval natural philosopher.
Brahe had additional reason to question the motion of the Earth, for his excellent stellar positional
observations continued to fail to detect any parallax. This lack of annual parallax implied that the
celestial sphere was "immeasurably large". Brahe had also attempted to measure the size of stars, not
understanding that the apparent size of a star simply reflects the blurring caused by the passage of
starlight through the atmosphere. Brahe's estimate for the size of stars would place them larger than
the current day estimate of the size of the Earth's orbit. Such "titanic" stars are absurd according to
Brahe's understanding of stars at the time.

Beyond Tycho Brahe's accomplishments in the observational arena, he is also remembered for
introducing two compromise solutions to the solar system model now referred to as the geoheliocentric
models. Brahe was strongly influenced by the idea of Mercury and Venus revolving around the Sun to
explain the fact that their apparent motion across the sky never takes them more than a few tens of
degrees from the Sun (called their greatest elongation). The behavior of inner worlds differs from the
orbital behavior of the outer planets, which can be found at any place on the elliptic during their orbital
cycle.

Brahe proposed a hybrid solutions to the geocentric model which preserves the geocentric nature of the
Earth at the center of the Universe, but placed the inner planets (Mercury and Venus) in orbit around
the Sun. This configuration resolves the problem of Mercury and Venus lack of large angular distances
from the Sun, but saves the key criticism of the heliocentric model, that the Earth is in motion. In other
works, Brahe's geoheliocentric model fit the available data but followed the philosophical intuition of a
non-moving Earth.

Neither successfully predicts the motion of the planets. The solution will be discovered by a student of
Tycho's, who finally resolves the heliocentric cosmology with the use of elliptical orbits.

Kepler (1600's) a student of Tycho who used Brahe's database to formulate the Laws of Planetary
Motion which corrects the problems of epicycles in the heliocentric theory by using ellipses instead of
circles for orbits of the planets.

This is a key mathematical formulation because the reason Copernicus' heliocentric model has to use
epicycles is due to the fact that he assumed perfectly circular orbits. With the use of ellipses, the
heliocentric model eliminates the need for epicycles and deferents. The orbital motion of a planet is
completely described by six elements: the semi-major axis, the eccentricity, the inclination, the
longitude of the ascending node, the argument of the perihelion and the time of the perihelion.

The formulation of a highly accurate system of determining the motions of all the planets marks the
beginning of the clockwork Universe concept, and another paradigm shift in our philosophy of science.

Galileo:

Kepler's laws are a mathematical formulation of the solar system. But, is the solar system `really'
composed of elliptical orbits, or is this just a computational trick and the `real' solar system is geocentric.
Of course, the answer to questions of this nature is observation.
The pioneer of astronomical observation in a modern context is Galileo. Galileo (1620's) developed laws
of motion (natural versus forced motion, rest versus uniform motion). Then, with a small refracting
telescope (3-inches), destroyed the the idea of a "perfect", geocentric Universe with the following 5
discoveries:

spots on the Sun

mountains and "seas" (maria) on the Moon

Milky Way is made of lots of stars

These first three are more of an aesthetic nature. Plato requires a `perfect' Universe. Spots, craters and
a broken Milky Way are all features of imperfection and at odds with Plato's ideas on purely
philosophical grounds. However, the laws of motion are as pure as Plato's celestial sphere, but clearly
are not easy to apply in the world of friction and air currents etc. So these observations, by themselves,
are not fatal to the geocentric theory. The next two are fatal and can only be explained by a heliocentric
model.

Venus has phases

Jupiter has moons (Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Callisto, Ganymede)

Notice that planets with phases are possible in a geocentric model. But for a planet to change in
apparent size with its phases, like Venus is impossible if the planet orbits the same distance from the
Earth. And, lastly, if all bodies orbit around the Earth, then the moons of Jupiter, which clearly orbit
around that planet, are definitive proof that the geocentric model is wrong.

Newton (1680's) developed the law of Universal Gravitation, laws of accelerated motion, invented
calculus (math tool), the 1st reflecting telescope and theory of light.
... off to the 18-20th century, with discovery of the outer planets and where astronomy moves towards
discoveries in stellar and galactic areas, next paradigm shift occurs in early 1960's with NASA deep space
probes

Source: http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast121/lectures/lec02.html

Brief History of Astronomy

Early astronomers, in different civilizations, used the observed motion of the stars, the Sun, Moon and
planets as the basis for clocks, calendars and a navigational compass. The Greeks developed models to
account for these celestial motions.

Copernicus, in the 16th century, was the first to explain the observed looping (retrograde) motion of
planets, by replacing a geocentric heliocentric model of the Universe with a heliocentric model. Modern
planetary astronomy really began in the 17th century with Kepler, who used Tycho Brahes very
accurate measurements of the planetary positions to develop his three laws.

Galileo contributed to the development of astronomy by teaching the Copernican view, and by devising
a telescope which he used to show Jupiters moons as a model for the solar system, among other things.
Newton built on earlier insights with his universal law of gravitation and its fruits: predictions or
explanations of Keplers laws, the motion of comets, the shape of the Earth, tides, precession of the
equinoxes and perturbations in the motion of planets which led to the discovery of Neptune. He also
had to invent the mathematics to do this: calculus.

Source: http://practicalphysics.org/very-brief-history-astronomy.html

Why do we need to study astronomy?

Astronomy should be studied by mankind because our survival is directly linked to the cosmos. The
Earth is heated by its nearest star, the Sun, and its ocean tides are directly connected to its only satellite,
the Moon. Knowledge of how these celestial bodies function and relate to each other is crucial to
understanding the history of the Earth and where it may be headed.

Astronomy has virtually always been studied by mankind because, thankfully, certain individuals
throughout history looked at the night sky and wanted to understand it and to be able to draw
predictions about it. Considered, as the attached eNotes document states, the oldest form of science,
astronomy dates back thousands of years when ancient Chines, Arabs and Greeks took it upon
themselves to map the sky and identify both the constants, in effect, the constellations, and the
aberrations, for example, the identification of the planets and comets. It was the German astronomer,
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543,) who risked his life to demonstrate that the Earth, and other known
planets, rotate around the Sun during a period when conventional wisdom supported by the
omniscient Church believed the Earth to be the center of the universe with the Sun rotating around it.
And, it was the Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who also risked his well-being by
advancing a scientifically-grounded heliocentric theory in defiance of Church doctrine, and who is
credited with major improvements to the telescope and the discovery of Jupiters moons and of
sunspots. Given the importance of sunspots to our ability to function as a society 2013 is a period
known as a Solar Maximum, whereby solar activity directly connected to sunspots is at a peak with
potential ramifications for the protection of electrical grids around the world it could be argued that
Galileos decision to study astronomy has benefit every man, woman and child on the planet.

Astronomy should also be studied because the universe is not a static model; on the contrary, it is
constantly changing, and it is through the study of astronomy that we know that the Andromeda and
Milky Way galaxies are on a collision course, that the Sun is halfway through its lifecycle, and that the
potential for a major asteroid strike on the Earth is very real and life threatening. While the first two
developments are hardly of daily concern to even the most nervous astronomer, the issue of a
catastrophic asteroid strike is a high priority for many governments around the world.

Astronomy was developed as a science because of the intellectual curiosity of its early practitioners. Its
growth as a field, however, owes a great deal to the direct relationship of the Earth to many other
objects in space.

Source:

How does astronomy benefit humankind?

There are a few technological developments which have come about because of astronomy (or, in many
cases, because of the space exploration program, which is separate from the work that most
astronomers do) and then turned out to be useful in other areas. Astronomical research itself rarely has
a direct impact on people's lives, but in the pursuit of their research, astronomers often have to invent
new instruments and techniques that produce spinoff technologies with broader applications. Some
examples of these technologies include low-noise radio receivers (used in cell phones and many other
applications) and parallel computing. Also, GPS would be inaccurate without relativity.

Nonetheless, I would agree that astronomy does not have many practical benefits to people's lives. The
reason we do astronomy, I think, is that people are interested in learning about it - humans want to
know how the universe came into being, what our place in it is, and what other objects exist within it.
Basically, we are curious, and astronomy enriches our lives that way. I would argue that astronomy is
certainly not the only sphere of human activity that falls in this category - I mean, you might as well ask
how art benefits people, or religion, or music...

Note added March 2004: As a reader of this page has pointed out, astronomy has historically had plenty
of practical uses! In ancient times, knowledge of the constellations and the motion of the stars and Sun
in the sky was invaluable for the development of navigation. In fact, it is still used today - a precise
knowledge of the positions of stars helps satellites orient themselves in space. However, the vast
majority of work that astronomers do today does not involve measuring the positions of stars. The work
that most astronomers do is more properly referred to as astrophysics, the study of physical conditions
in faraway locations in the universe. I would maintain that this research does not have much direct,
practical benefit to people's lives.

Source: http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/145-people-in-astronomy/careers-in-
astronomy/general-questions/895-how-does-astronomy-benefit-humankind-beginner