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384 BCE
aristotle
Aristotle figured out how the moon can be seen, the moon phases, and how eclipses work. He also knew the earth is spherical from the round shadows on a lunar eclipse. Although Aristotle believed that the Earth was the center of the universe. He also believed that the movement of the planets and stars were circular since they never stopped moving, bu the stars don't moves so it was only partly correct. -
100
ptolemy
Ptolemy was most known for making the almagest. The almagest was divided up into thirteen different books each argued different views in science. Such as the first book that argued views about a geocentric universe, spherical cosmos, and trigonometry. He also made something known as the equant point. The equant point was where the planets would have had to revolve around if the universe was geocentric and the planets moved in perfect circles. -
1473
copernicus
Copernicus was the first astronomer to propose the sun as a fixed point and all the planets moved around it. He also said that the Earth revolves around the sun once a year, and that it rotates in a circle once a day creating a cycle. This was known as the heliocentric system. Copernicus also worked on the procession of the equinoxes, that when the stars were observed in the past they have changed now since the Earth was moving due to its axis wobbling. -
1546
Tycho Brahe
Tycho work was mostly in developing astronomical instruments and in measuring and fixing the position of the stars. His observations were the most accurate prior to the telescope. He made a comprehensive study of the solar system and accurate fixed points of 777 stars. He also observed a supernova in the constellation of Cassiopeia and that current theories thought it was due to the environment changing he said it happened with no regard to the surrounding stars. -
1564
Galileo
Galileo investigated the laws of motion and improved the telescope in order to answer the question if the solar system was heliocentric or geocentric. He also was the first to see craters on the moon with his telescope, he also used his telescope to study the heavens. He is also known for discovering the four most massive moons of Jupiter. When studying the laws of motion he was most known for inertia; the body of which something pushes against to change the movement of the body. -
1570
Hans Lippershey
Hans Lippershey was the first person to file for a patent of the telescope also known as the spyglass. Lippershey's telescope would magnify objects by three times. -
1571
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler made three major laws of planetary motion. The first one for example said the planets moved in elliptical orbits around the sun. Kepler was also known for being the first person to discover that refraction helped drive the eye which was later used for telescopes. -
Giovanni Cassini
Giovanni was the first person to observe Saturn's four largest moons and the gaps in the planets rings. He was also known for the calculation of an important meridian line. This allowed for measurements that were very precise for his time. -
Sir Isaac Newton
Newton was known for inventing calculus and having a very clear understanding of optics. He was also known for the development of the universal law of gravity. Newton was also known for the three laws of motion in the universe, -
Difference between refracting and reflecting telescopes
A reflecting telescope used two mirrors to bounce the light from into the telescope to a secondary mirror that directs it to the eyepiece. Although the more common refracting telescope does it differently. In a refracting telescope the light comes in through a big lens then into a smaller lens that you look through. -
William Herschel
Herschel was well known for the discovery of the planet Uranus. He also discovered 2500 nebulae and put them in the general catalog of nebulae. He also discovered 2 moons around Uranus and two more around Jupiter. -
Percival Lowell
Lowell initiated the search for a planet beyond Neptune which ended when Pluto was founded. He also built a private observatory in Flagstaff, AZ, dedicated to the studying of Mars. He also made the calculation for the orbit of Uranus. -
Ejnar Hertzsprung
Classified by their absolute brightness relative to their color. This gave proof that giant and dwarf stars exist. He also made a scale to classify the brightness of stars in relation to their distance. -
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was most commonly known for the discovery of the equation e=mc^2. This Equation explained special relativity. He was also known for trying to unify all of the universes forces into a single theory. -
Edwin Hubble
Hubble was known for discovering that there were other galaxies. Also in those galaxies were cepheid variable. These were helpful because they could have been used for measurement. -
Karl jansky
Karl was known for finding radio waves from an extraterrestrial source. Because if this he inaugurated the development of radio astronomy. This allowed for a longer range of observations. -
John Glenn 1962
John was the first american to orbit the Earth. In the passenger 7 spacecraft, he orbited the Earth 3 times and then crashed safely into the Atlantic. This achievement put America back on track in the space race. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the first satellite launched into the Earth's orbit by the Soviets. It was equipped with two radio transmitters and was about the size of a basketball. It also was the unplanned reason NASA was created and started the race to send a person to the moon. -
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri was the fist person to fly in space for a little over one orbit. He was launched in the Soviet Union's spacecraft called the Vostok. The launched of Yuri prove that the Soviet Union was a worthy competitor to be the first to put a man on the moon. -
The Apollo program
The Apollo program's main goal was to put a man on the moon and return him safely. But it also had many other goals like developing human capability to conduct research on the moon. Also making the technology to meet other national interests in space. -
Neil Armstrong 1969
Neil was the first person to walk on the moon in the Apollo 11 mission. Since he worked for NASA, This mission proved that America had won the space race. -
First space shuttle flight
The first space shuttle flight proved to have made a reusable space craft. It was launched like a rocket and entered the atmosphere as a glider. Columbia, the first space shuttle, flew for a total of 28 missions. -
Mars Pathfinder Expedition
The mars pathfinder expedition was the first to launch a rover with the tools to observe surface of Mars. The rover used a new type of landing system consisting a parachute and airbags to break the fall. Once up there the rover began to take observations about the planet -
Cassini Orbiter
The Cassini Orbiter was launched into space with a very powerful camera and other instruments. The main goal of the orbiter was to capture images of Saturn. It could also see in wavelengths and feel magnetic fields. -
Star swallowed by super massive black hole
Astronomers used a radio telescope the size of Earth to observe a black hole swallow a star, from a distant galaxy. This was found because when a star gets close to a black hole the gravitational energy of the star is converted into electromagnetic radiation. The electromagnetic radiation is easily visible through multiple sizes of radio waves.
