In: Science
...Astronomy is a natural science that is the study of celestial objects (such as moons, planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies), thephysics, chemistry, mathematics, and evolution of such objects, and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth, including supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic background radiation. A related but distinct subject, cosmology, is concerned with studying the universe as a whole.[1]Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Prehistoric cultures left behind astronomical artifacts such as the Egyptian monuments andNubian monuments, and early civilizations such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, Iranians and Maya performed methodical observations of the night sky. However, the invention of the telescope was required before astronomy was able to develop into a modern science. Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calendars, but professional astronomy is nowadays often considered to be synonymous with astrophysics.[2]During the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, which is then analyzed using basic principles of physics. Theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two......
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...The Emotional Impact of Astronomical Components in Ancient Greece The topic of interest I am proposing is the Astronomical impact on the emotions and characters of ancient Greece. As a student in High School I was always fascinated by the ambiguity of Astronomy. I constantly researched the stars, planets, and matter within space that could give me a better understanding of how space and time itself have formed. Now, as a college student, I have once again taken interest in Astronomical issues. I will use my previous research in the field of Ancient Astronomy to bridge the gap between emotion and the intellect of the stars. With my previous research on the topic I know a great deal about Ancient Astronomy overall. I know the basic...
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...Astronomy of the Cosmos – the last frontier, and the data that supports our incessant desire to obtain knowledge about the universe is causing a surge in data storage, replication, and the need for more. How will this community of scientists and engineers deal with what to keep, what not to keep, and how to keep it when it comes to the vast array of data required our use? An Astronomical Surge of Data Degradation in performance should not be the expected course when saving such data. One cannot simply expect that by adding infrastructure as usage increases (common in commercial business enterprises) the problem will be solved. Because astronomy archives generally operate on limited budgets that are fixed for several years, any changes in computer architecture would have to be foreseen and budgeted years early. More so, who do you plan for new discoveries? The current data-access and computing model used in astronomy will be insufficient for future use at the rate it is being collected. Currently, data is downloaded from archives to a local machine to be analyzed. This is done on a very large scale in order to be made accessible to end users. Data discovery, access, and processing are likely to be distributed across several archives (an archive of data warehousing). Given that the maximum that science return will yield from this “federation of data” i.e. multiple archives, a broad wavelength range will be required. Astronomy data is collected and archived in......
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...I love astronomy and I am an aspiring radio astronomer. Radio astronomy is the intersection of the fields I find most interesting, exciting, and intellectually and practically satisfying, namely Electronics Engineering, Physics, and Mathematics. So, I have worked diligently these past three years to increase my understanding and mastery of these subjects, and I have greatly enjoyed the process. My motivation of taking astronomy as my career started in high school through popular science magazines and books but most importantly, in search of my loved grandfather in the night sky. I made a 12.5 inch dobsonian telescope in my high school and also, participated in many events organized by various astronomy clubs in my city. As I joined college...
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...A Scientific Biography of Cecilia Payne: Women in Astronomy When someone mentions some of the famous astronomers, what we always hear are names like Isaac Newton, Edwin Hubble or Harlow Shapely. However, there was actually one name among the 20th century astronomers that did occasionally come up, separated itself from the mainstream, and broke down the major barriers of sciences. That is the name of Cecilia Payne, who succeeded in working with the astrophysics of stellar composition. Born in Wendover, England in 1900, Cecilia developed an interest in astronomy when she was at the age of five after witnessing a meteor in the sky. In the year 1919, Cecilia won a scholarship to enter the Newham College at Cambridge, however, with the intention to study botany at first. The attraction of astronomy didn’t dominate her life until she had a chance to attend Sir Arthur Eddington’s lecture on Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Cecilia was so enthusiastic that after the lecture, she was able to “write out virtually verbatim what she had heard, later checking it as correct against a printed version”(Wayman 1.27). And it was the same enthusiasm that made her give up botany and turn towards astronomy. However, her career of astronomy wasn’t a smooth sailing at all time. Not only that women were not granted degrees at Cambridge at the time when Cecilia completed her studies, Cecilia also had experienced a feeling of discrimination especially when one of her......
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...renowned for his impact on astrophysics, obtained many accomplishments throughout his career and lifetime. From various books written to several substantial discoveries and theories, this man from Kendall, England managed to take a unique approach at the astronomical world in which he will always be remembered for. On December 28, 1882, Arthur Stanley Eddington was born in Kendall, Westmorland, England by his two parents Arthur Henry Eddington and Sarah Anne Shout. Since him and his father shared a first name, Eddington’s family called him Stanley. His father, Arthur Henry Eddington died when Arthur Stanley was just 2 years old. He died due to an epidemic that was making its way around England call Typhoid. Since her husband had died, it was now her responsibility to raise Arthur and his older sister as a single mother. After he had died, Sarah Anne Shout picked up everything and moved her family and her Quaker beliefs to a town called Weston-super-Mare to reunited and live with her mother in law....
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...The Scientific Revolution and the Birth of Astronomy Many people today question the purpose of religion and, rather than warship the bible and adhere to papal infallibility, focus on coming up with new ideas, scientific approaches, and solutions to answer the infinite amount of questions life has to offer. Challenging the ideas found in tradition and religious faith is not a new concept invented by recent generations. In circa 1550 AD, one of the most dramatic social transformations ever faced by human nature came and with it brought a new-founded age of Science. It altered the way society perceived life and led to many innovations. This social transformation is known as the Scientific Revolution, and in it spawned new generations of philosophers,...
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...their origins in Western-traditional asterisms from which the constellations take their names. When astronomers say something is “in” a given constellation they mean it is within those official boundaries. There are 88 officially recognized constellations, covering the entire sky[1] which have grown from the 48 classical Greek constellations laid down by Ptolemy in the Almagest. Out of these 88 constellations, 12 compose the zodiac signs. Thus, any given point in a celestial coordinate system can unambiguously be assigned to a constellation. It is usual in astronomy to give the constellation in which a given object is found along with its coordinates in order to convey a rough idea in which part of the sky it is located. Contents [hide] * 1Terminology * 2History * 2.1Ancient near East * 2.2Chinese astronomy * 2.3Indian astronomy * 2.4Classical antiquity * 2.5Islamic astronomy * 2.6Early Modern era * 3IAU constellations * 4Asterisms * 5Ecliptic coordinate systems * 6Dark cloud...
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...for its comprehension. Hundreds if not thousands of astronomers throughout the ages added some valuable pieces of information to astronomical big picture. As Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin brilliantly putted in her 1976 speech " [...] The old scientist cannot claim that the masterpiece is his own work. He may have roughed of part of the design, laid on a few strokes , but he has learned to accept the discoveries of others with the same delight that he experienced on his own[...] (Astronomy Today, Chap. 16, p 383) What we know today about the universe is a collective work of many generation of dedicated man and woman who continue to add new insight of astronomy great spectrum of universe. Some scholars may add a little, some may add a lot, yet some may change our understanding of a matter in question. Such man were Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton. Those man are credited with revolutionizing the study of astronomy. The heliocentric theory formulated by Copernicus caused strong turmoil within astronomy, physics and cosmology. Many man of science considered it as contrary to Aristotle’s physics and the Bible. However, some astronomers were engaged in...
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...for galaxies which this theory was proven fact because of Edwin Hubble. Now to explain what this is, well this scheme reprsents more of divided regular galaxies to broad classes. Each of these classes...
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...Spectroscopy Examples of Spectroscopy in Astronomy Probing the Formation of Stars in Colliding Galaxies in the universe. Uncovering the mystery of quasar Spectroscopy in Astronomy camp Stars like our own Sun Bibliography 1. Introduction Spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the study of matter and its properties by investigating light, sound, or particles that are emitted, absorbed or scattered by the matter under investigation. Spectroscopy may also be defined as the study of the interaction between light and matter. Historically, spectroscopy referred to a branch of science in which visible light was used for theoretical studies on the structure of matter and for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Recently, however, the definition has broadened as new techniques have been developed that utilize not only visible light, but many other forms of electromagnetic and non-electromagnetic radiation: microwaves, radiowaves, x-rays, electrons, phonons (sound waves) and others. Impedance spectroscopy is a study of frequency response in alternating current. Spectroscopy is often used in physical and analytical chemistry for the identification of substances through the spectrum emitted from them or absorbed in them. A device for recording a spectrum is a spectrometer. Spectroscopy can be classified according to the physical quantity which is measured or calculated or the measurement process. Spectroscopy is also heavily used in astronomy and remote sensing. Most large......
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...University of Phoenix Material Basics of Astronomy Outline Amanda Taddei 8-27-2012 Complete the outline based on the readings for this week: Ch. 1–4 of The Cosmic Perspective. Use complete sentences for all sub points listed. The following is an example of a completed outline: 1. Our place in the universe a. The modern view of the universe 1) What is our Sun and what is its role in the solar system? a) Our sun is a hot ball of glowing gases that is at the heart of our solar system. b) Our suns role is to give out energy and heat. This energy and heat allows for there to be life on earth. However, even though our sun is unique and life giving there are billions of stars that are just like it in the Milky Way galaxy. (Solar System Exploration, 2012) 2) What is our Milky Way galaxy and the sun’s position in it? a) The Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy that has arms that extend out from the center like a pinwheel. Our galaxy is one of about 100 billion visible universes. (Solar System Exploration, 2012) b) The sun’s posistion in the galaxy is in the Orions arm of the Mily Way. However, because of how our planets are set up in our system there is life on Earth. The Sun has an almost circular orbit. The sun is just the right distance from the center of our galaxy to promote life. The planets and our sun are just the right distance apart for one of our planets, Earth, to have higher intelegance life on it. 3) What is the Big Bang and what......
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...scientific authority was also in progress, a radical shift in thought that later became known as the Scientific Revolution. Scientists in all fields were beginning to question the wisdom of the ancient philosophers who had molded their disciplines. They gradually began rely on objective facts and observation and to turn away from the mysticism, religion, and unfounded theorizing that had previously dominated the field. This drastic change in scientific practices and beliefs was most apparent in the field of astronomy. Physics and astronomy had been dominated by the work of Aristotle, a philosopher from the time of ancient Greece, and Ptolemy, an astronomer from the second century A.D. Astronomy was rooted in both philosophy and theology, and it was difficult for scientists to separate their work from that of the mystics or the clergy. Through the work of the four fathers of the astronomical revolution, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton, both the practice of astronomy and man's view of the universe were...
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...1) Modern astronomy basically begins with the re-emergence of the heliocentric view of the universe by Copernicus. Who were the four other major contributors to the development of modern astronomy after Copernicus? Explain what those contributions were. Finally, why did it take so long for the geocentric view of the universe to be overthrown and what does that tell us about scientific research and our society, even today? Copernicus release his theory of the heliocentric view while he was on his death bed. Primary reason for this was because of the Catholic’s church control on society at the time and the effects it would have on religious society stating that the earth was not the center of the universe. After Copernicus released his theory, other key astronomers that supported and advanced Capernicus’ theory included Galileo, Keppler, Brahe, and Newton. Galileo Galilei, a contributed to astronomy and physics, advanced the use of the telescope towards use in astronomy. because of his invention, and ability to view the planets and starts, he identified four of Jupiters moons, and the phases of Venus which directly supported Copernicus’ theory, that earth, like the other planets, revolved around the sun, and moons, revolved around their planets. Tyco Brahe, an astronomer, under the support of King Frederick the II, established an observatory on the Danish island of Hveen. The establishment of this observatory was critical for the next 20 years in establishing......
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...AD in Patliputra in Magadha is now modern Patna in Bihar. There are several tales of claim for his origins. Indian scientists have shaped the course of Mathematics and astronomy for the world to marvel upon. Many scientists in the USA today are Indians and more than 40% of scientists of NASA and the Silicon Valley are Indians. Indians have helped the world build intercontinental missiles, satellites, the space shuttles, stealth technology, space exploration and deep impact navigation. One of the very early pioneers in astronomy and mathematics was Aryabhatta. Whatever this origins, it cannot be disputed that he lived in Patliputra where he wrote his famous thesis called the “Aryabhatta-Siddanta” more commonly known as the “Aryabhatiya”. This is the only works to have survived to the present day. It contains mathematical and astronomical hypothesis that have been discovered to be quite accurate in contemporary mathematics. For example, he wrote that if 4 is added to 100 and then multiplied by 8 then added to 62,000 then divided by 20,000 the answer will be equal to the circumference of a circle of diameter twenty thousand. This calculates to 3.1416 close to actual value Pi (3.14159). But his greatest donation has to be zero, known as “Shunya” in his times. His other works include theorems on trigonometry, arithmetic, algebra, quadratic equations and the sine table. He also wrote essays on astronomy. For example he was aware......
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