Stargazers of the centuries : Innovations and Inventions of Modern Astronomers

Welcome to a fascinating tour into the amazing world of modern astronomers! The study of the universe has never been more exciting or accessible than it is today, a time of ground-breaking discoveries and tremendous technology developments. Join us as we explore the creative minds, ground-breaking discoveries, and cosmic riddles that shape the field of modern astronomy. Our blog is your gateway to the cutting edge of human knowledge, whether you want to understand the mystery of black holes or see the birth of new stars. Let's talk about modern astronomers and their discoveries through this blog.🚀

Nicolaus Copernicus

He is a Polish astronomer known as the father of modern astronomy. Also, he has written a book called 'De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'. Copernicus calculated the relative distance between the planets. He proposed a heliocentric model and a solar system model with circular orbits. 

Nicolaus Copernicus

Statue of Nicolaus Copernicus

Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer well known for accurate astronomical observations. He is the author of 'De Nova Stella'. He built an observatory called 'Uraniborg' (Castle of the Heavens). In 1572, Tycho discovered a supernova in the constellation Casiopian.

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei is known as the father of observational astronomy. He invented the thermoscope and used his telescope, which was well-improved for his observations. He observed the four largest satellites of Jupiter, Saturn's rings, the stars of the Milky Way, and the sunspots as well. He defended his views in the 'Dialogue between Two Great World Systems' and 'Siderus Nuncis' (The Starry Message) books. Also, his observations supported the heliocentric model, which was suggested by Copernicus.

Galileo Galilei

Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler He was a German astronomer, well known for his three laws of planetary motion, which we called Kepler's laws of planetary motion. 

👉First Law 

      A planet's orbit is an eclipse (not circles) with the sun at one of the two foci. 

👉Second Law:

     A line segment between a planet and the sun sweeps out equal portions at equal time             intervals. 

👉Third law 

     The square of a planet's orbital period is related to the cube of each semi-major axis               length. 

Johannes Keppler

Sir Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton, was an English polymer scientist active as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. As a philosopher, he propounded the three laws of motion, which are the basic principles of modern physics. It resulted in the formulation of the laws of universal gravitation. He is known as the discoverer of constant gravity. He is the key point of the scientific revolution. He constructed a reflecting telescope. Also, he has written naturalist Principia Mathematica, which is the fundamental work of modern science. 

Newtonian laws of motion 

👉First law 

      An object wants to change its motion unless a force acts on it.

👉Second law 

     The force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration. 

👉Third law

     When two objects interact, they apply forces to each other of equal magnitude and in             opposite directions. 

Sir Isaac Newton

Christian Huygens

Christian Huygens was a Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and experimental scientist. He studied Saturn's rings and discovered Titan, which is the largest moon of Saturn. He also invented the pendulum clock and was the most accurate timekeeper in astronomical history for over 300 years. 

William Herschel

William Herschel was a British astronomer and the founder of sidereal astronomy. He constructed many telescopes. He discovered infrared radiation and also found Uranus and its moons. (Titania and Oberon) He was the first President of the Royal Astronomical Society. 

William Parsons

William Parsons was an Anglo-Irish astronomer, and he built giant telescopes. He discovered the spiral nature of some nebulae. (Spiral Galaxies) Whirlpool Galaxy and The Crab Nebula received those names based on his drawings. 

William Parsons

Huge telescopes made by William Parsons

Edwin Hubble 

Edwin Hubble was an American astronomer. Extragalactic astronomy, observation, and cosmology were his main fields. Hubble is mostly well known for the Hubble Space Telescope, which was named in his honor. Hubble is famous for his law, which is known as Hubble's law today. 

👉Hubble's Law 

     The recessional velocity of a galaxy increases with its distance from the Earth. Using the       Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory, he discovered the andromeda nebula           and also explained the expansion of the universe.

The voyage is far from ended in the dynamic field of contemporary astronomy. The cosmos still conceals numerous mysteries that have yet to be discovered, and the committed astronomers of today are on the verge of making discoveries that will fundamentally alter our perception of the world. We'll explore further into cutting-edge technology, cosmic occurrences and more knowledge on upcoming blogs. Prepare to be enthralled by the cosmological puzzles and the amazing brains solving them. Join us on this cosmic journey, and let's keep exploring the astronomy's endless wonders together. Stay tuned!✌💖

Exploring the Legacy of Ancient Greek Astronomers

Greek astronomy has led to modern astronomy. Let's talk about Greek astronomers and their contributions to astronomy throughout this blog.💫

Thales

Thales was a philosopher who lived in Greece in the 6th century. He is well known as the father of astronomy. A solar eclipse was predicted by him in 585 B.C. He believed that everything was created from water and also presented the opinion that the Earth exists like a disk on three whales. This shows that they believed the Earth to be a flat disk.

Aristotle 

He is a student of Plato who lived in Greece. He contributed to many fields, not only astronomy but also being an expert in dramatic fields, biology, etc. He started the lyceum. He elaborated on Eudoxus' geocentrism as well. 

 A statue of  Aristotle

Aristarchus 

He presented heliocentrism. He presented the first known heliocentric hypothesis. Determined the sun's and moon's relative distances. 

  

   Eudoxus' geocentric system  developed by Aristotle .

   Aristarchus presented the first known heliocentric

   hypothesis.

                                  

Eratosthenes 

He discovered latitude and longitude. He also discovered the circumference of the Earth and the creation of calendars using leap years, which are the major things he has done. He divided the Earth into regions.

Hipparchus 

Hipparchus explained the motion of the sun and the moon and also predicted the diameter of the moon. Hipparchus compiled his star catalog later in his career. 

Claudius Ptolemy 

He is the author of the book 'Almagest'. Also, he supported  and highly developed geocentrism and invented the map. 

Claudius Ptolemy

Hypatia

She has written 'The Astronomical Canon'. Hypatia is well-known for being the best mathematician  and astronomer of her day.

The legacy of ancient Greek astronomers continues to shine brilliantly in the annals of astronomical history, just as their celestial observations once lit the night sky. From Thales' pioneering work to Hipparchus' mathematical accuracy and Aristarchus' visionary speculations, these ancient thinkers lay the groundwork for current comprehension of our universe. Their constant curiosity with the skies, along with their devotion to observation and mathematics, prepared the groundwork for succeeding generations' astronomical revolutions. Today, we stare at the stars with amazement and thankfulness, knowing that the ancient Greeks' unquenchable curiosity and intellectual prowess continue to inspire and lead us across the universe's unfathomable vastness. May the wonders of the universe continue to pique our interest in exploring the cosmos until we meet again in the endless regions of discovery. 🚀 

History of astronomy

The night sky has been a place with full of curiosities since ancient times. As the oldest science, astronomy has many historical references. So let's investigate the history of astronomy through this blog.

Babylonian Civilization 

Akkadians who lived in Babylonia used to observe planetary motions and prepare reports called "almanacs" 4500 years ago. 

Egyptian Civilization 

The Nile River is the key to the civilization of Egypt. 
When the Nile River overflowed, they noticed that a bright star called 'Sirius' was at the bottom of the night sky. 
After that, they used to decide the seasons that were good to harvest according to the observations they made while observing the night sky.
When we talk about the civilization of Egypt, we can't forget about the "great pyramid" that was built by the ancient pharaohs around 2650 B.C. and it is exactly oriented along the north-south axis.
The Egyptians identified Orion because the two air shafts' proof shows that the brightest star in Orion's belt is intimately connected to the tomb of the pharaoh's .

Mayans' Astronomy

Mayans have usually welcomed the beginning of a year on July 26th. So they have prepared a calendar according to their observations. They built a famous observatory called "Chichen Itza". So the Mayans' astronomy provided records of planetary observations, calendars, and predictions of solar eclipses. Also, they have observed the motion of the Venus. The Mayans developed the science of astronomy.

Indians' and Sri Lankans' Astronomy

Astrolabe and the celestial globe are some of the inventions of the Indians. Sri Lanka also possessed crystal technology and aircraft technology. At Isurumuni, there's an engraving on a rock called
"Star Gate", which is considered to be an ancient center of universal communication.

Chinese Astronomy

They observed the Crab Nebula supernova in 1054. It was the first supernova observation recorded in history, and the Chinese are also the inventors of the modern calendar. There was a Chinese scientist called "Zhang Heng" who created the armillary sphere, which was used to identify the altitude of the sun or stars. However, the armillary sphere was invented later by the Greek astronomer Eratosthenes.

Arabic Astronomy

Arabians used to observe the night sky. They have also used lunar calendars.

 

 

Also, "Stonehenge" is an impressive monument built by the ancient people who lived in England. It provides us with a new astronomical area called "archaeoastronomy".

They built this to track the apparent paths of the moon and sun. Stonehenge's time-keeping function also helped them measure the changes in the seasons for their agricultural and ceremonial purposes.

So these impressive and mysterious structures provide us with a great source of knowledge in astronomy.

As the oldest science, astronomy seems to have been very useful for our ancestors for agricultural, religious, and ceremonial purposes.

 

Let's talk about the astronomical contribution of the ancient Greek astronomers who led the path to modern astronomy in next episode!💫