Periods
The earliest written records (i.e. history) were astronomical observations.recorded position of planets, times of eclipses etc.Hellenistic Culture :The ancient Greeks inherited astronomical records from the Babylonians and applied the data to construct a cosmological framework.Thales, founder of Greek philosophy and founder of the Milesian school of cosmologistsused this data to predict eclipses.Eratosthenes- The early Greeks knew the Earth was a sphere based on the shadow of Earth on the Moon during lunar eclipses. Eratosthenes proceeded to use this information to measure the circumference of Earth.Hipparchus - produced the first-star catalogue and recorded the names of constellations.Ptolemy- was the Librarian of Alexandria who resurrected Heraclides geocentric theory and combined with centuries of data on planetary motions to predict the motions of the solar systemCopernicus- reinvented the heliocentric theory and challenged Church doctrine. By placing the Sun at the centre of the Solar System, Copernicus forced a change in our worldview = paradigm shift or scientific revolution.An example of a time spanTycho Brahe- was astronomy's 1st true observer. He built the Danish Observatory from which he measured positions of planets and stars to the highest degree of accuracy.Kepler- a student of Tycho who used Brahe's database to formulate the Laws of Planetary Motion which corrects the problems of epicycles.Galileo- developed laws of motion.Newton- developed the law of Universal Gravitation, laws of accelerated motion, invented calculus (math tool), the 1st reflecting telescope and theory of light.with discovery of the outer planets and where astronomy moves towards discoveries in stellar and galactic areas.with NASA deep space probes.
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