...Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming and the Caracol temple in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, though the association of these structures with astronomy is more controversial • A more certain candidate for a North American calendar is the Sun Dagger in New Mexico, a rock formation structured such that a sliver of light passes through a carved stone spiral at noon on the summer solstice • There are several sites similar to the Sun Dagger found throughout the American southwest • The ancient Chinese also kept detailed records of astronomical events for astrological purposes; modern astronomers still refer to their records for information on ancient astronomical phenomena • After the fall of Rome, Muslim astronomers kept the knowledge of the ancient Greek astronomers alive during the European Dark Ages, as well as adding their own findings • Many mathematical techniques were developed by Muslim astronomers to deal with astronomical problems, and many of the terms used in modern astronomy -- including...
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...Tyler Pederson March 23, 2010 Astronomy Mid Term Essay The ancient philosophers believed that the workings of the heavens were controlled by the gods and thus did not think that mankind was able to understand the movement of the planets. The beliefs of these philosophers were very different and in contrast to later scientific investigation. Figures in science such as Isaac Newton and Galileo were major factors that contributed to a new level of thinking and established proper scientific investigations and a whole new level of thinking. The church dominated much of the thinking of this time and the Catholic Church condemned heliocentrism, which was the theory that the planets and Earth revolve around the sun and the sun is stationary at the center of the universe, and Galileo was warned to abandon his support for it. Galileo was a scientist who played a major role in the scientific revolution. Kinematics is the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of objects without consideration of the causes leading to the motion and was vastly studied by Galileo. His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, and the observation of sunspots, which proved that the sun rotates because of the speed at which the spots rotate. Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion which dominated the scientific view of the physical universe...
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...Australia’s indigenous people, the world’s oldest astronomers There is growing evidence that aboriginal people may be the oldest astronomers in the world. They used many astronomical existences to interpret cultural ideas and sustain livelihood. Most aboriginal tribes used astronomy. The rising of a star or constellation told them when to change food sources. E.g. When the constellation Lyra disappears in October, the Mallee-fowl laid eggs, which were collected. The Yolngu people tracked the complex movement of Venus to predict when to hold the Morning Star Ceremony. They knew a lot about astronomy, but not as we know it today. Hunting was a large factor of aboriginal life. The Torres Strait Islanders used the Tagai constellation to organise fishing and farming cycle, as well as rituals and social activities. Aboriginals knew Dingoes would start mating and producing puppies when Orion rose early in the winter morning, it was also the best time to catch fish. The Aborigines aligned emu engravings with the “Emu in the Sky” constellation, so they knew when emus were laying eggs. They used Scorpius to travel from one clan to another, they would select a pointer star to follow when traveling at night....
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...A Compare and Contrast of the Short Stories Shiloh and Astronomers Wife: Love is a Bizarre Thing The subject of love has been a focal point of art since the earliest of times. It is seen in various forms of art such as paintings, sculptures, and literature. The form in which it is explored in the most detail is literature. This is due to the fact that words can express so much more than, say, a painting. While paintings can evoke great emotion and meaning, writing is able to achieve that intended feeling in greater detail and control. An author can try to prove a point by introducing a bias to the writing, or leave it open to the reader’s interpretation. Authors have a large amount of freedom, which is what makes writing such a diverse art form. Couple this with a topic such as love, and the possibilities are infinite. Writing is a popular art form due to the various disciplines of writing available to choose from. This diversity leads to common subjects that cross all boundaries of writing. Possibly the most common aspect of life addressed through writing is love. Due to the inconsistent nature of love, various authors have written about it from different angles. Love is very common in literature, due to the euphoric feelings that come along with it. Consequently, the devastating effects of love lost are also covered. It is the intense emotion involved that has caused it to flourish throughout literature. One category of writing that the theme of love is explored is short...
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...The Renaissance is known as a time of rebirth of thinking, learning, and teaching. One of the main changes associated with this time is the expansion of culture and intellect. It was a time of changes that included new and different ways of gaining knowledge, the general expansion of the sharing of knowledge, and broadened scholastic authority; all of which are exemplified by Galileo Galilei and his works. Galileo is an excellent example of a typical Renaissance astronomer. Prior to the Renaissance, scholar’s blindly followed Aristotle and his works on the philosophy of nature. It wasn’t until the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries that scholars began to challenge the works of Aristotle. This is said to be one of the reasons for which the Renaissance came about. Before the Renaissance, almost all scholar’s were blind followers of Aristotle. His “tried and true” theories were somewhat of a habit and it was easier to have faith in his works rather than challenge the church and the majority of scholars at the time. Fortunately the Renaissance brought along a changed view on education and led to altered ways of thinking. Scholar’s began to use their senses as tools for learning, as well as reason and logic. In Galileo’s case he challenged many of Aristotle’s works, who was the leading philosopher at the time and was also supported by the church. More specifically Galileo rejected Aristotelian theories of motion and was led to create his own theories and publish his laws of motion...
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...Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are two of the most significant writers during the 19th century. Whitman and Dickinson are interesting writers because they both had a very unique and powerful style of writing, which can be seen in the poems “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” and poem “236.” By comparing and contrasting Walt Whitman’s poem, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “236,” people will see the similarities and the differences in many ways, but both poems have a very powerful message written within the words. The two poems are similar in innumerable ways. For example, in the poem “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” the narrator is in a lecture room listening to an educated astronomer talk about the...
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...thank for a whole lot of new tricks. To name a few would be, our solar system, the way we form our maps, and we can’t forget the numerous mathematical formulas used to make ideas come to life. In this research paper, we will touch base on the lives of three great astronomers and the tricks they have taught us. We will also see how astronomers of today contribute to our everyday lives. Some say that our first astronomer was a great astronomer. Other say, “Ptolemy was the only great astronomer of Roman Alexandria.” (Brown, 2016) It’s all a matter of opinion, but what we cannot deny was Ptolemy was a great astronomer of his time and today. We do not know much about Ptolemy’s personal life. What we do know about him came from his work. He was born around 85ce in Egypt to a Greek family even though he bore a roman name. To say Ptolemy was diverse is an understatement. He was also diverse in his studies being he was a mathematician, geographer, and astrologer. We know he was a Roman citizen, due to his name, which was most likely given to an ancestor and carried down. We know his family must have been Greek because he wrote in Greek even though he lived in Egypt. Ptolemy was a great mathematician, astronomer and known for his geographical discoveries. As a mathematician, his length...
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...Observatory was founded by the astronomer Percival Lowell. The Lowell Observatory is located on top of one of the mountains in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is one of the firstborn observatories in the United States, and it is one of the largest observatories in the world. It is very hard to start an observatory in the nineteenth century because of four main things. First, in the nineteenth century, there was a lack of technology, and the experts in technology had the minimum equipment to help in the field. Furthermore, there was a lack of experience, and there were not many experts in the field. In addition, there was a lack of funding, and it was hard to open an observatory on personal fund. Moreover, finding the perfect...
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...that was lucky enough to be living in the Earth’s Southern Hemisphere would have been able to see the after math of Supernova 1987A, the new star was easily visible to the naked eye for many months. This new star was studied by astronomers since that epic night. The Supernova 1987A exploded 170,000 light years away, on the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The light from the Supernova 1987A traveling a whopping 186,000 miles per second finally reached Earth on February, 23-24, 1987, this just goes to show how vast our galaxy is that it 170,000 light years to see. Astronomers used this as an opportunity to study the closest thing that created our universe. Supernova 1987A was a type ll supernova, the type of characteristic that explain this is a violent stellar event, caused by the implosion of a star. The star that exploded was a Sanduleak -69 o 202, a blue supergiant. When astronomers found this out they were surprise, because they were not aware that Type ll supernova was able to become that hot and turn that color, since this discovery they now accepted that supergiants are a normal progenitor for some supernovae. The supernova1987A was a core-collapse supernova, meaning that the core of the star collapsed. Astronomers believe that a neutron star would form, because of the neutrino emissions from the supernova event indicated, they would now realize today that, that was not the case because they cannot find any evidence of a neutron star....
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...Abstract: Modern astronomers have made significant progress in determining what the universe is mostly composed by what substance. By utilizing the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), scientists discovered that the universe (for the first a few hundred thousand years) was an expanding gas composed primarily of protons, electrons, photons, neutrinos, and the mysterious dark matter. In the present, scientists are still bombard about dark matter and what it really is. Although, scientists do not know what dark matter is, they are certain of what it is not. Dark matter is not in the form of stars and planets that we see and it is known to make up about 25% of the entire Universe. By using the effect of gravitational lensing, astronomers are able to determine that dark matter is not affected by most of the other baryonic matters. They also found that dark matter is the responsible substance that makes up most of the masses in the universe (found in galaxies, dwarf galaxies, and cluster galaxies). Dark matter is also the primary influence of gravitational pulls. The mysterious and magnificent space that seems almost empty to the naked eye has fascinated mankind for as long as history can remember. The universe seems empty because it is made up of gas which is primarily composed of particles such as protons, electrons, photons, neutrinos, and dark matter. Dark matter is known to make up about 25% of the entire Universe but scientists have yet to understand completely about...
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...of a planet approximately 335 light-years from Earth in a star. This discovery is a huge one, for that the new planet is said to grow at least three sizes the planet Jupiter. The group of astronomers that made such discovery is an international team led by Clemson University in California. These astronomers found the planet orbiting the star named HD 100546. However, what makes the scientists believe this is in fact a new planet? The reason is that, the team found carbon-monoxide emission that is the leading fact of the creation of a planet and because new studies have confirmed activity around the HD 100546 star. This new finding is a big to all astronomers for that this would allow them to test their theories in terms of the creation of solar systems, such as our very own. According to the article, since the proximity of this new forming planet is closer than other disk systems, it is easier to study in detail the process of formation. Meaning we would be able to have front role seats to such a fascinating event, at least hopefully for part of our lifetime. (Clemson University, 2014). Scientists excitedly state that once they understand what is going on in terms of their discovery that they can begin to implement the tools that they are currently developing. In other words, astronomers want to test the tools on the newfound planet once they have made sufficient observations to then test them on the other larger systems that are farther away. Moreover, the star is said...
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...Henrietta Swan Leavitt – Female Astronomer My choice of topic is about a women astronomer, Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Henrietta Swan Leavitt was an American astronomer, whose work revolutionized human understanding of the relative variability and brightness of the stars. Henrietta’s greatest achievement was in finding out the period- luminosity relationship of variable stars – stars whose brightness keeps changing over regularly occurring periods. This important discovery became the basis for the astronomer’s ability to calculate the distance of stars from the Earth. Henrietta Swan Leavitt was the daughter of Henrietta Swan (Kendrick) and George Roswell Leavitt, who was a congregational church minister. Henrietta was born on July 4, 1868 in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Henrietta entered the Oberlin College in Ohio in 1885 and in 1892 she graduated from the Society for the Collegiate Instruction for Women, now Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, which is part of the Harvard University. Leavitt became sick after her graduation from college. She did recover from her sickness; however it left her profoundly deaf. Henrietta’s interest in astronomy began during her senior year in college. In 1895, Leavitt became a volunteer research assistant at the Harvard College Observatory. In 1902, Leavitt was given a permanent position by a noted astronomer who was the head of the Harvard College Observatory, Edward Pickering. Leavitt’s salary was 30 cents ...
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...Elizabethan Astronomy: the Best Era Ever Although pre-elizabethan astronomy paved the way for astronomers of the elizabethan era. Astronomy from the Elizabethan era had the most influence on modern astronomy, because of the contributions of the leaders of the renaissance, shifts in beliefs, and new changes in questioning. In pre-elizabethan times, astronomy was linked to other science fields such as cosmology and astrology. During the elizabethan era, they made the distinction between the three. Cosmology is the study of the nature of the universe and astrology is the science of the influence of heavenly bodies on earthly matters. Astronomy however, is the study of the number, size, and motion of heavenly bodies. (Astronomy)There were many changes to the astronomy field that occurred once astronomy was put into its own field. For astronomy to be in its own field, astronomy needed a reason. The reason astronomy was used and had its own field is because of King Charles II. King Charles’ hand was forced into creating an observatory in Greenwich in order for astronomical research to be...
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...Nostalgia for the Light, a documentary released by Patricio Guzman in 2010, illustrates the lasting effects of Augusto Pinochet’s cruel regime on the people of Chile. It focuses on the astronomers who search the universe for a look at humanity, and the women of chile who desperately search for the remains of their loved ones in the vast expanse of the Atacama Desert. Patricio Guzman, the filmmaker behind Nostalgia for the Light, was born in 1941 in Santiago, Chile. On September 11, 1973 Patricio Guzman and thousands of others were imprisoned in Chile’s National Stadium. After gaining his freedom he moved to Europe. Patricio Guzman is a world renown filmmaker and has received several prizes for his documentaries. Nostalgia for the Light was his latest film. The main focus of Nostalgia for the Light, is the similarities between the women and the astronomers their search for answers. The connection between them is depicted throughout the film....
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...The irony that unravels as the story develops disagrees with this common notion. One critic argues, “People with lofty ambitions, like the astronomer, do not regard the common people as necessary for the world to run smoothly, and would rather obliterate them” (Kay Boyle’s The Astronomer’s Wife: Analysis). The plumber takes on an occupation that is often discredited for the work he performs because of the generalizations that assume a lack in his educational background; His career choice is viewed as a “dirty” job while an astronomer, as the one in the story, is often praised for its rigorous coursework which evidently leads to the formulations of higher expectations. He is referred to by his wife as “the professor” and given an immediate classification in terms of his social ranking. A college degree might have given the astronomer an upper hand in terms of his reputation, but his perception and psychological tendencies do not cultivate an emergence of knowledge that can be applied to the manner in which he deals with the world he lives in and not of that composed of stars and space. The author never indicates whether or not the plumber ever received any amount of formal education, but his actions describe that of a successful...
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