Saturday, August 25, 2007

THE HISTORY OF THE ASTRONOMY


Astronomy is one of ancient world’s sciences – maybe older than all others. Its beginnings were at first civilizations. In the starts human tried to anticipate the movement of the space objects. Human beings from their beginning attend to count all stars on the night sky. A lot of ancient cultures believed that space objects they’ve seen on the sky were their gods. Movements of these objects they interpret like god or bad signs. When humans observe that position of stars can show which season of year is, and that sun speaking which time of day is, they use it for planning their work and trips.

This way helps to inhabitants of Egypt to measure the time in lunar periods – time between two new moons. They divide a time that one year has tri period, and each period has four months. Year began when star Sirius was visible before the dawn. That mean also it’s coming productive period when Nil floods the fields.

Although ancient Egyptian took interest in stars and planets, Sumerian and Babylonian desert us some clues and we can according these clues conclude that they knew so much about astronomy, maybe even more than we did.

The biggest contribution to astronomy gave ancient Greek astronomers. They brought out explanation and theories about space objects and space appearances. Also they publish the stars catalogs.

Aristotle introduced in 335 BC geocentric universe model which takes Earth to the center of universe and other objects rotate around circle. That theory kept itself in the Middle Ages supported by Christian Church.

It considers Hipparchus like the most important Greek astronomer. He explored the sky and gave the names to the stars. He enlarged a number of known stars at 850. For discovering the stars position, he took Babylonian notices on the clay panels.

In 137 AD Ptolemy introduced his catalog Almagest. That catalog contained the positions of 1080 stars on night sky which divided in 48 constellations.

Greeks developed a many theories, but science was in the Middle Ages felling in oblivion. That period was darkness for whole humanity and for all sciences includes the astronomy. Arabians haven’t been Christians and they ones only developed natural sciences. So they saved the many pieces of work of Greek astronomers and philosophers and bring them to the Europe when she started waking up.

After rain always comes the sun, also after the Middle Ages came renaissance. Then many sciences blossom again. Astronomy rose with astronomers Galileo, Kepler and Copernicus. Polish astronomer Nicolas Copernicus discards the geocentric universe model that overcame for 19 centuries. He took the Sun in the center of Solar system and planets include the Earth around Sun. Although the Church continued support the geocentric model, astronomer take sides of heliocentric universe model. Copernicus’s theory supplied separate Galielo and Kepler.

53 years after Copernicus theory Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe introduced catalog that includes 773 stars and their position on the night sky.

In 1608 Hans Lippershey invents telescope, quite possibly for military. One year after, Jochannes Kepler said the theory that planets don’t rotate around the proper circle than ellipse. But he didn’t know why is it that, cause he didn’t meet the gravity laws.

Another year after, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei became the first man who observe the sky -> space from the Earth. Then he discovered Jupiter’s satellites, Milky Way, sunspots, and crater on the Moon.

Once in 1667 Isaac Newton was sitting in his garden and thinking about physic. He catches sight of apple’s fall from the three. He started thinking why did apple fall onto the surface and why didn’t fly into the space. Then he contrived the law of gravitation and thus digs the foundations of modern astronomy. Newton also invited first telescope reflector.

In 1705 Edmond Halley predicted for year 1758 a return of one comet in the center of Solar System. That comet later gets the name Halley’s Comet.

Year 1781 stayed registered per discovering a new planet. English astronomer William Herschell discovered the 7th planet of Solar system – Uranus – and its 4 satellites. He also published a catalog of nebulas, discovered binary stars, steadied that Solar system is in motion trough the Milky Way…

Following years astronomers uncovered that one more object behind the Uranus exist and it leverages on the Uranus orbit. Eighth planet – Neptune divested a half century afterward. It’s discovered in 1846 by German astronomers Johann Galle and Heinrich D’Arrest.

Only three years later Harvard College Observatory took a photograph and makes the first photographies of stars.

In 1907 one of the biggest physicians in Human history – Albert Einstein - find out the mass can be transmute to the energy. It brings to cognition that Sun fire because of synthesis of hydrogen’s atom in the helium. Einstein introduced a Special Theory of Relativity, too.

After World War I, in 1919, American astronomer Vesto Slipher put forward his hypothesis about expansion of the universe. Slipher’s thesis was supported in 1929 by Edwin Hubble who found hard proofs about expansion.

Between 1924 and 1930 Belgian Georges Lemaitre and Russian Alexander Friedmann introduced the theories about beginning of universe – Big Bang.

Observation of Neptune’s revolution around the Sun signalized that behind exist one more object. That object found Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. It was ninth planet, at that time, and is named Pluto.

Two years following American radio-engineer Karl Janky registered ultramundane radio-signals from the Milky Way.

In the middle of 20th century on Earth began space age. Giant forces USA and SSSR started the competition in exploring the universe. Russian sent first aircraft to the space. In 1957 Russians sent dog Lajka and four years later first man - Jurij Gagarin - in the space. Americans rendered sending a rocket with crew in space. In sixties, Russians send first female in space – Valentina Terješkova.

American astrophysicians Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson prove the theory of Big Bang by means of cosmic background radiation in 1965. Two years following, Briton woman Jocelyn Bell discovered the first neutron star, relatively pulsar.

In that time Russians and Americans continued aggressively. In 1969 American send first men onto the Moon’s surface in Apollo 11. First space station in the space was sent by Russians in 1971. It was Salyut 1. Two years later Americans sent his first space station – Skylab 1. Finally, in 1975 agreed upon American and Russian, their aircrafts coalesced. Then is began the exploration of the planets.

In 1986 is launch the space station Mir. 25 years later Mir ended duty and its cue undertook International Space Station.

In year 2006 astronomer decided that Pluto is not planet any more, so Solar System now has eight true planets and some ice littleness planets that include Pluto, Charon, Xena, Sedna…

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