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Period: 100 to 500
Stonehenge 3000-1800BC
Stonehenge is was built in this time period and archeastromers think it was designed using early human astronomical observations. The summer solstice sun rises behind the Heelstone of Stonehenge. Its sightlines also point the moon's minimum and maximum risings. The structure may have also been used to predict lunar eclipses (although this is debatable). -
Jan 1, 1000
Temple of Isis
The Temple of Isis is located in Dendera, Egypt. It aligns with Sirius, the brightest star, and incorporates egyptian myths as well. -
Telescope Invented
The first telescope ever recorded was made by Hans Lippershay who was a lensmaker in Holland. His telescope was widely known and Galileo later used it to observe patterns, motion, and surfaces of planets and stars. -
Gregorian Telescope
The Gregorian Telescope used a concave and convex mirror system unlike the lenses in Lippershey's telescopes. Less tubing is required to get the same viewing distance as previous telescopes had. Gregory, who created the new telescope, had unique ideas in that he used both mirrors and lenses. -
Newtonian Telescope
Newton created a mirror telescope that reflected light to a focus point and magnified objects millions of times more than a lense telescope. -
Spectrometer
Joseph von Fraunhofer looked to the sky to see where exactly the sun was hitting. He, from there, devised a system of spectronmy. This was used to find lights and dark lines throughout the celecstial sphere. -
Photos of Sun's Surfaces
French physicists, Fizaeo and Foucault, took detailed photos of the Sun's surface with the help of newly improved telescope technology. The marks the beginning of astronomical observation by the means of photography. -
First Picture of a Star
Henry Draper was the first person to take an accurate picture of stars. He made advances in science and photography in his feat at the time. The new photgraphing capabilities allowed for a better understanding of the stars and how people should study them. He contributed a lot of other things to astronomy by his star catalogs and his innovating of instruments used for imaging the universe. -
Space Travel Proposal
Kostantin Tsiolkovsky wrote an article about aircraft that could eventually travel to space. His work suggested an aerodynamic shape and an all-metal body. This was incredibly forward-thinking for the time as it was decades before any human actually made the journey into outer space. -
First Liquid-Fueled Rocket
Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket. This adaptation of his allowed for the potential of rockets to operate in vacuums and to reach extreme altitudes. This was a large discovery as the conditions are pertinent to the applications of actual space travel. -
Sputnik 1
The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite. This holds technological relevance in its achievement and also social relevance in what it signified. The launching of Sputnik began the space race between The United States and The Soviet Union in the late 20th century. -
National Aeuronautics and Space Administration
At this time there was a threat posed to the country's dominance by the rapid Soviet Union technological innovations. NASA was created to keep up with these cultural demands. Quickly after its formation, projects were being taken up to put people in space. -
Voyager 2 Space Probe
The voyager mission set out to explore other planets. It is collecting data from all around. The Voyager probe continues to move outward withstanding difficult conditions away from the sun. -
Hubble Telescope
Hubble, an earh-orbiting telescope was launched in 1990. Its purpose is to send earth a large mass of photographs of the universe in a unique detail. This gives a new and well documened perspective to space imaging. -
ISS Construction
The International Space station is a satellite orbiting the earth. It was important in its space lab and its ability to be habitable. This was also greatly socially significant. It was constructed by the hands of five major space centers: Russia, United States, Japan, Europe, and Canada. These all coming together indicated a cooperation on an entirely new level. -
Black Holes Photograph
A telescope in Hawaii is seend observing the consumption of a star. Astronomers analyzing the flight notice it seems to "disappear." Thus, this is the first picture capturing a black hole.
