1、The History of AstronomyPlease pick up your assigned transmitter.When did mankind first become interested in the science of astronomy?1. With the advent of modern computer technology (mid-20th century)2. With the development of the theory of relativity (early 20th century)3. With the invention of th
2、e telescope ( A.D. 1600)4. During the times of the ancient greeks ( 400 300 B.C.)5. In the stone and bronze ages (several thousand years B.C.)The Roots of Astronomy Already in the stone and bronze ages, human cultures realized the cyclic nature of motions in the sky. Monuments dating back to 3000 B.
3、C. show alignments with astronomical significance. Those monuments were probably used as calendars or even to predict eclipses. StonehengeStonehenge Constructed 3000 1800 B.C. in Great Britain Alignments with locations of sunset, sunrise, moonset and moonrise at summer and winter solstices Probably
4、used as calendar.Other Examples around the WorldBig Horn Medicine Wheel (Wyoming)Other Examples around the WorldCaracol (Mexico); Maya culture, approx. A.D. 1000Why is it so difficult to find out about the state of astronomical knowledge of bronze-age civilizations?1. Written documents from that tim
5、e are in a language that we dont understand.2. There are no written documents documents from that time.3. Different written documents about their astronomical knowledge often contradict each other. 4. Due to the Earths precession, they had a completely different view of the sky than we have today.5.
6、 They didnt have any astronomical knowledge at all.Ancient Greek Astronomers Models were based on unproven “first principles”, believed to be “obvious” and were not questioned:1. Geocentric “Universe”: The Earth is at the Center of the “Universe”.2. “Perfect Heavens”: The motions of all celestial bodies can be described by motions involving objects of “perfect” shape, i.e., spheres or circles. Ptolemy: Geocentric model, including epicycles1. Imperfect, changeable Earth,2. Perfect Heavens (described by spheres)Central guiding principles:
