Ten Major Astronomers

By lawson3ge
  • Nicolaus Copernicus
    1543

    Nicolaus Copernicus

    Publishes his heliocentric worldview in his book "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"
  • 1543

    Nicolaus Copernicus

    Proposed that the Earth orbits the sun annually and also turns once daily on its axis
  • Tycho Brahe
    Nov 11, 1572

    Tycho Brahe

    Is the first to observe the new star or supernova in the Cassiopeia constellation

  • Tycho Brahe

    Publishes his Tychonic model of the comsos in his book Of More Recent Phenomena of the Ethereal World.
  • Galileo Galilei

    Galileo Galilei

    Invents the refracting telescopes, which was a powerful, new telescope at the time that bent light for a better view of the sky.
  • Johannes Kepler

    Johannes Kepler

    Discovers that Mars has an eliptical orbit around the Sun.

  • Galileo Galilei

    Is the first to observe the four moons of Jupiter.

  • Johannes Kepler

    Publishes his Rudolphine Tables, which was a mathematical calculation of the positions of the then known planets of the Solar System.

  • Johannes Hevelius builds his Stellaeburg observatory in Danzig, Poland. It is a large rooftop observatory with an enormous telescope of 130ft (40m) focal length to observe the Moon, from which he drew extensive maps.

  • Johannes Hevelius builds his Stellaeburg observatory in Danzig, Poland. It is a large rooftop observatory with an enormous telescope of 130ft (40m) focal length to observe the Moon, from which he drew extensive maps.

    Johannes Hevelius builds his Stellaeburg observatory in Danzig, Poland. It is a large rooftop observatory with an enormous telescope of 130ft (40m) focal length to observe the Moon, from which he drew extensive maps.

  • Johannes Hevelius

    Johannes Hevelius

    Johannes Hevelius builds his Stellaeburg observatory in Danzig, Poland. It is a large rooftop
    observatory with an enormous
    telescope of 130ft (40m) focal length to
    observe the Moon, from which he drew
    extensive maps.

  • Isaac Newton

    Invented the reflecting telescope, which used mirrors to reflect light, creating an image. They are best used for distant stars and galaxies, which the refracting telescope could not see very well.

  • Isaac Newton invented the reflecting telescope, which solved the problem of glare and color distortion, as well as allowed for a smaller, more practical telescope.

  • Period: to

    Giovanni Cassini

    Discovered four of Saturn's moons: Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys, and Dione.
  • Giovanni Cassini discovered the Cassini Division, the gap in Saturn's rings.

    Giovanni Cassini discovered the Cassini Division, the gap in Saturn's rings.

  • Giovanni Cassini

    Giovanni Cassini

    Discovered the Cassini Division, the gap in Saturn's rings.
  • Period: to

    Giovanni Cassini discovered 4 of Saturns' moons.

  • Isaac Newton published his book, "Principia," which talked about his theory of universal gravitation

    Isaac Newton published his book, "Principia," which talked about his theory of universal gravitation

  • Isaac Newton

    Isaac Newton

    Published his discovery of and findings on universal gravitation in his book, "Principia Mathematica."

  • Johannes Hevelius' Prodromus Astronomiae, which contains his star map of 1,564 stars, is published posthumously.

  • Johannes Hevelius

    Johannes Hevelius' "Prodromus Astronomiae," which contains his star map of 1,564 stars, is published posthumously.

  • Huggins’s first spectroscopic observations are published, showing that stars are composed of the same elements that occur on the Sun and Earth.

  • William Huggins

    William Huggins

    Huggins’s first spectroscopic observations are published, showing that stars are composed of the same elements that occur on the Sun and Earth.

  • William Huggins

    Became the first to measure the radial velocity of a star by the Doppler shift of its spectral (infrared) lines.
  • Period: to

    Albert Einstein

    Einstein came up with the theories of
    special and general relativity, which
    is a more in-depth explanation of
    gravity than what Newton
    discovered.
  • Albert Einstein

    Albert Einstein

    Predicted the existence of black holes.
  • Edwin Hubble

    Edwin Hubble

    Hubble used the Hooker telescope to prove that there are galaxies beyond the Milky Way.

  • Edwin Hubble

    Developed Hubble's law, which was the theory that the universe is expanding.