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History of Astronomy
Events
The Start of Western Astronomy
3500 BC
The Mesopotamians are thought to be among the first astronomers to walk the planet. They recorded star patterns by writing on wet clay, then letting it dry. Although they may have not been the first to observe the stars, there is evidence that they were the first to write down their observations.
Chinese Astronomy
3000 BC
Evidence has shown that the ancient Chinese people used stars to navigate. They thought that certain stars marked the entry-way to the heavens. The stars they used were specifically circumpolar stars.
Egyptians Astronomy
2500 BC
The Egyptians went into further detail when studying the stars. By taking measurements of the stars alignment in the sky, they built temples as well as pyramids that aligned in a certain way. Their buildings each lined up with the directions North, East, South, and West. They also used stars to predict the annual flooding of the Nile river.
Aristotle
442 BC
Aristotle was a philosopher and astronomer who believed in the geocentric or "earth centered' universe. He believed the sun and other planets were spheres that orbited earth in a circular pattern.
Ptolemy
367 BCE - 365 BCE
Ptolemy was a geographer, astronomer, and astrologer who considered Earth to be the center of the universe. He had the same idea as Aristotle and many other astronomers of his time. He created a geocentric modal of out solar system.
Copernicus
1473 - 1543
Contrary to popular belief at the time, Nicolaus Copernicus believed that the sun was the center of the universe, rather than earth. This idea was known as the Heliocentric theory. He also believed that Earth revolved around the sun while also spinning on an axis.
Galileo
1564 - 1642
Galileo's contributions to astronomy mostly involved the telescope. He observed sunspots, Saturn's rings, the phases of Venus, and satellites of Jupiter.
Kepler
1571 - 1630
Kepler was a astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician who came up with the three laws of planetary motion. One of his laws being that planets revolve in an elliptical orbit.
Hawking
1942 - 2018
Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist who studied quantum mechanics. His work with physics has paved the way for future discoveries in our mysterious and complex universe.
https://astronomynow.com/2018/03/14/stephen-hawking-1942-2018/
Hubble
1953 - 1989
Hubble went into great depths when studying the universe, he mapped out complex distant stars. He studied and proved that other galaxies existed apart from the Milky Way.
