Astrology into Astronomy

Bianca

Superhero Member

Posts: 41646

Astrology into Astronomy

« on: January 30, 2008, 08:57:32 am »

ASTROLOGY INTO ASTRONOMY

The study of planets, stars, galaxies, and intergalactic and interstellar space falls under the field
of astronomy. Thousands of years ago, the earliest civilizations observed the heavens.

Because astrologerss of the past set the foundation for today's astronomy, it is an interesting
journey to take a look through the history of astrology.

How did they figure out how big around the Earth is?

Who was the first astrologer to recognize galaxies outside our own? What must've it been like to
look through Galileo's first telescope to see the craters on the Moon? Were people stunned when
Halley correctly predicted the return of a comet?

Archeoastrology is different than looking at the history of astrology. It sets to find out just how astrology fit into a certain culture's life.

Were women ever allowed or encouraged to be astrologers in ancient times?

Did the builders of Stonehenge incorporate into its structure an eclipse prediction system?

How did the Mayan calculate the length of a year with such accuracy without a computer?

This section will take you on a journey through time, across the continents and into the lives
of
people from all times and places.

The movements of the heavenly bodies are an admirable thing, well known and manifest to all
peoples. There are no people, no matter how barbaric and primitive, that do not raise up their
eyes, take note, and observe with some care and admiration the continuous and uniform course of the heavenly bodies." - Bernabe Cobo (1653)

From the beginning, man has observed the heavens. Early man observed the heavens because
the Sun, Moon and stars gave indication of coming seasons to farmers and hunters.
The sky aided in navigation especially for nomads and sailors. And many ancient civilizations
thought the sky gave signs of life, war, earthquakes, the fate of kingdoms...and more.

The new field of archeoastronomy started in the 1960s with discoveries at Stonehenge.

Archeoastronomy has been called the 'anthropology of astronomy' to distinguish it from the
history of astronomy. This means that archeoastronomy pays attention to the astronomical
practices, mythologies, and religions of ancient cultures.

It sets to find out just how astronomy fit into a certain culture's life. And so it touches on
ancient calendar systems, concepts of time and space, mathematics (especially counting
systems and geometry), navigation, and architecture.

Archeoastronomers will look at imagery and writing left by a civilization. They will look at
architecture, especially to see if the buildings have any orientations towards the Sun or
Moon or even Venus.

The most common orientation is to look for alignment with sun rise on the date of a solstice.


	Report Spam Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.

Bianca

Superhero Member

Posts: 41646

Re: Astrology into Astronomy

« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2008, 08:59:45 am »

Timeline of Astrology/Astronomy

This is a timeline of important events in astronomical history. Some events which are not specifically astronomical in nature are listed to give historical perspective as to what was happening in those times.

Date
Location
Event

3,200 B.C.

Ireland

Newgrange is built.

3,000 B.C.

England

Stonehenge is built.

~2,000 B.C.

Egypt and Mesopotamia

First solar-lunar calendars

~280 B.C.

Samos (Alexandria)

Aristrachus suggests the Earth revolves around the Sun. He provides first estimation of Earth-Sun distance.

~240 B.C.

Cyrene (now Shahhat, Libya)

Eratosthenes measures the circumference of the earth with surprising accuracy!

~130 B.C.

Greece

Hipparchus develops the first acccurate star map and star catalogue with over 850 of the brightest stars.

45 B.C.

Roman Empire

Introduction of the Julian calendar, a purely solar calendar, to the Roman Empire.

140 A.D.

Greece

Ptolemy suggests geocentric theory of the universe in famous work Mathematike Syntaxis.

813 A.D.

Iraq

Al Mamon founds the Baghdad school of astronomy.

1054 A.D.

China

Chinese astronomers observe supernova in Taurus.

1543 A.D.

Poland

Copernicus publishes his heliocentric theory of the Universe.

1572 A.D.

Denmark

Tycho Brahe discovers a supernova in constellation of Cassiopeia.

1582 A.D.

Italy

Pope Gregory XIII introduces the Gregorian calendar.

1603 A.D.

Germany

Johann Bayer introduces Bayer designation of stars, assigning Greek letters to stars, still in use today.

1608 A.D.

Netherlands

Hans Lippershey, a Dutch spectacles maker invents the telescope.

1609 A.D.

Italy

Galileo uses telescope for astronomical purposes. He discovers 4 Jovian moons, the Moon's craters and the Milky Way galaxy.

1609 A.D.

Germany

Kepler's First and Second Laws of Planetary Motions are announced.

1609 A.D.

Germany

The Third Law of Planetary Motion is announced by Kepler in his work Harmonice Mudi (Harmony of the World).

1656 A.D.

Netherlands

Christian Huygens discovers Saturn's rings and Titan, the fourth satellite of Saturn.

1659 A.D.

Netherlands

Huygens notes markings on Mars.

1666 A.D.

Italy

Martian polar ice caps are noted by Cassini.

1668 A.D.

England

The first reflecting telescope was built by Newton.

1669 A.D.

Italy

Geminiano Montanari discovers the star Algol is not steady in brightness, thus recognizing the first variable star.

1675 A.D.

France

While in Paris, Danish astronomer Ole Romer measures the speed of light.

1675 A.D.

France

Cassini discovers that Saturn's rings are split into two parts, so that today the gap is called the "Cassini Division".

1687 A.D.

England

Newton publishes his theory of universal gravitation in the work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. This is seen to be the start of Modern Astronomy.

1705 A.D.

England

Halley correctly predicts the return of a comet (Halley's comet) in 1758.

1758 A.D.

Germany

Johann Palitzsch observes Halley's comet as predicted by Halley in 1705.

1781 A.D.

England

The discovery of Uranus by Herschel

1781 A.D.

France

Messier discovers galaxies, nebula and star clusters while looking comets. He compiles a catalogue of these objects (Messier objects).

1801 A.D.

Italy

Piazzi discovers first asteroid, Ceres.

1842 A.D.

Austria

Discovery of the 'Doppler Effect' by Austrian physicist and mathematician, Christian Doppler.

1843 A.D.

Germany

Samuel Heinrich Schwabe describes the sunspot cycle.

1846 A.D.

Germany

Johann Galle observes and discovers Neptune. His observations were prompted by mathematical calculations by French astronomer Joseph Leverrier and English astronomer John Couch Adams.

1860-63 A.D.

England

The beginning of spectral analysis of stars by Sir William Huggins

1868 A.D.

England

Jansen and Lockyer observe solar prominences.

1872 A.D.

U.S.A.

Henry Draper takes a photograph of the stellar spectrum of Vega. This is the first of its kind.

1877 A.D.

U.S.A.

Asaph Hall discovers Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars.

1877 A.D.

Italy

Schiapparelli observes the canals on Mars.

1878 A.D.

Jupiter

The Great Red Spot on Jupiter becomes prominent.


	Report Spam Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.

Bianca

Superhero Member

Posts: 41646

Re: Astrology into Astronomy

« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2008, 09:01:33 am »

Person

Region where they lived

and worked...

Lifetime

'Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi

Persia

10th century A.D.

Aristotle

Greece

384-322 B.C.

Tycho Brahe

Denmark

1546-1601 A.D.

Giovanni Cassini

Italy

1625-1712 A.D.

Nicolas Copernicus

Poland

1473-1543 A.D.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Italian

1452-1519 A.D.

Democritus

Greece

470-380 B.C.

Christian Doppler

Austria

1803-1853 A.D.

En Hedu' Anna

Babylonia

~2354 B.C.

Eratosthenes

Cyrene (now Shahhat, Libya)

276-197 B.C.

Galileo Galilei

Italy

1564-1642 A.D.

Edmond Halley

England

1656-1742

William Herschel

England

1738-1822 A.D.

Hipparchus

Greece

190-120 B.C.

Christian Huygens

Netherlands

1629-1695 A.D.

Hypatia

Egypt

370-415 A.D.

Johan Kepler

Germany

1571-1630 A.D.

Simon Marius

German

1573-1624 A.D.

Isaac Newton

England

1642-1727 A.D.

Plato

Greece

427-327 B.C.

Ptolemy

Greece

85-165 A.D.

Pythagoras

Greece

580-520 B.C.

Socrates

Greece

470-399 B.C.

Thales

Greece

http://www.haystack.mit.edu/edu/pcr/resources/astronomyhistory.htm
624-546 B.C.


	Report Spam Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.

Bianca

Superhero Member

Posts: 41646

Re: Astrology into Astronomy

« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2008, 09:03:54 am »


	Report Spam Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.

Bianca

Superhero Member

Posts: 41646

Re: Astrology into Astronomy

« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2008, 09:05:26 am »

Astronomy Regions of Interest

These regions are ones that are of most interest in the astronomy of long ago, i.e., it will mainly cover regions where people were practicing astronomy from 4,000 B.C. to the age of modern astronomy (1687 when Newton issued his universal Law of Gravitation). We will of course be adding to this section frequently! If you would like to see a region or event added to this list, please submit your suggestion to our comments system.

Region

Points of Interest

Africa

Ancient Egyptian Astronomy

Aristrachus - first estimation of Earth-Sun distance

Eratosthenes - circumference of the Earth

Babylonia

Ancient Babylonian Astronomy

British Isles

Newgrange Passage Tomb

Stonehenge Stone Monument

The founding of archeoastronomy

Central America

Ancient Mayan Astronomy

China

Ancient Chinese Astronomy

Denmark

Tycho Brahe - incredible naked-eye astronomer

Germany

Johann Bayer - Bayer system of star designation

Kepler - Laws of Planetary Motion

Greece

Hipparchus - first star map

Ptolemy - geocentric theory of the universe

Italy

Galileo - used one of the 1st telescopes

Netherlands

Hans Lippershey, inventor of the telescope

Poland

Copernicus - heliocentric theory of the universe

Roman Empire

Julian calendar (solar calendar)

http://www.haystack.mit.edu/edu/pcr/resources/astronomyhistory.htm


« Last Edit: January 30, 2008, 09:07:39 am by Bianca »	Report Spam Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.

Pages: [1] Go Up

« previous next »