Ancient Astronomy Timeline

By rullyot
  • 276 BCE

    Eratosthenes

    Eratosthenes roughly measured the size of Earth (the first accurate measurement) This discovery gives us more information about our own planet but also a greater understanding of our relationship with the sun.
  • 90

    Cladius Ptolomy

    Ultimately being wrong, Ptolomy created a model of the solar system that was discoverable at the time, as well as believing that planets and stars revolve around Earth.The importance of this discovery was that it created the math needed to "prove" these theories and that it was the universal understanding for a while.
  • 1543

    Nicolaus Copernicus

    Copernicus was the first person that claimed we were orbiting around the sun. This discovery was important since it was the first model claiming that everything was not revolving around Earth, and was correct (for the most part).
  • 1572

    Tycho Brache

    Brache is known for his contribution on the detailed pathing of planets in our solar system. This discovery was important since it allowed Kepler to discover more defined measurements.
  • Johnannes Kepler

    Johannes Kepler is responsible for discovering that planets travel around the sun in ellipses and three laws of motions for the movement of planets. This is important since we still use his laws in our understandings today.
  • Sir Isaac Newton

    Sir Isaac Newton is most famously known for his discoveries how gravity works. The importance of Newton's discoveries are that we still use his three laws on force and motion in our modern day understanding.
  • Albert Einstein

    Albert Einstein is responsible for proposing that the laws of physics are constant across the universe. This discovery was important since it was accurate and a head of its time, allowing us to learn more about the universe.