Astronomy Essay

1520 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: History of astronomy essay

Astronomy: An In-Depth Look From Origin to Present Day
Of all the sciences that seek to explain the rules that govern our world (astronomy, chemistry, earth science, physics, and biology), astronomy has existed the longest. It is naturally connected with religion and mythology due to the mystery of the cosmos. According to Plato, “astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another” (Brainy Quotes). Consequently, humans have been fascinated with the stars for countless millennia. This fascination evolved from pre-historic cultures worshipping solar eclipses to modern astronomy clubs like the Astronomy Society at UCF studying the birth of stars that are millions of light years away.
The Genesis: Babylonians and Stonehenge
Recorded human history does not begin until Mesopotamia and the Akkadian Empire in 3500 BC. However it is safe to say that even before this time, as soon as Homo sapiens were able to contemplate about things other than survival and sex, astronomy was somehow involved in their way of life. Whether it be simply worshipping the sun or praying to a certain constellation, prehistoric civilizations indirectly studied the cosmos. It is also likely that early man was scared of the night sky because it was so overwhelmingly large and unpredictable. Nevertheless, the first recorded practice of astronomy coincides with the beginning of recorded human history. Babylonia was a nation state in Mesopotamia and as such, Babylonians became one of the first human civilizations to have a clear record of their existence.
The Babylonians first contributions were star catalogues. These are big lists of constellations, stars, and planets. The Babylonians also recorded celestial phenomena, such as ecli...

... middle of paper ...

...d series were and are incredibly important in exposing the general public to astronomy. When presented in a novel way, astronomy immediately becomes understandable and inviting to anyone.
Present Day
When I am at the Robinson Observatory with the Astronomy Society at UCF, I cannot stop looking through the telescopes. Each star I look at has its own story. Every galaxy I look at is an incomprehensibly large structure filled with billions of stars. When I look up to the sky at the night, it is incredible to think that I am doing something that primitive men were doing at night as well. And even though we have learned a tremendous amount of information about our universe since the dawn of civilization, we still know very little in the grand scheme of things; and in that way, I am directly connected with the first cave man that arched his neck to ponder the night sky.

Show More
Related

  • Middle Ages Vs Renaissance Dbq

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    In document C, Ptolemy had a theory where the Earth was the center of the Solar System. Other scientists also had this theory when they were examining the stars and Earth's rotation. But other scientists figured out that the Sun was the center of the Solar System instead of Earth. Document D shows the zodiacs and how the stars lining up. These documents show how advance the people in the Renaissance were. Ptolemy and Copernicus were very advanced as well when they had their theories on the Solar System. Also when they would use the stars and constellations for the zodiac symbolizations (Doc

    Read More

  • Alan Lightman's Our Place In The Universe

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many of the heavenly bodies were considered to be the representations of deities. The master of reason, Aristotle, stated once long ago that everything was made of only five elements the final being what makes up the heavenly bodies, after all they lacked the proper technologies to know differently. It was Galileo in 1610, using his telescope, that found dark spots on the sun. So as technological innovations occur our understanding of physics and astronomy grow. Newton in 1687 discovered the laws of gravity, suggested that all the solar and stellar bodies operated the same.

    Read More

  • Consilience, by Wilson, Life is a Miracle by Berry and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig

    5738 Words  | 12 Pages

    The surest foundation for the origin of science in its practical form is to be found in the ìco–rdination and standardization of the knowledge of common sense and of industry.î[1] One of the first occurrences of this co–rdination can be traced back to 2500 BCE in the form of edicts from the ancient Babylonian rulers, who issued royal standards of length, weight and capacity. Non-Semitic Sumerians also laid down the elements of mathematics and geometry at that time, making use of fractions, decimals, circles and radial angles. But knowledge as we know it today was tightly woven with magical notions, and as both spread westward they instilled in European thought a reverence for ìspecial numbers, their connections to the gods and the application of geometrical diagrams to the prediction of the future.î[2] As well, the ancient Babylonians were fascinated by the heavens. They were the first to make a map of the stars and associate them with animals like the Ram, Crab and Scorpion, names that we still use to this day. They also realized the periodicity and reliability of astronomical movement and phenomena, and were soon able to predict many of them. Tablets have been found dating to the sixth century BCE that predicted the relative positions of the sun and moon, as well as forecasted the occurrences of eclipses.[3] Out of all this knowledge the Babylonians built up a fantastic system of astrology, through which the starsówhich were thought to fix and foretell the course of human affairsówould give up their secrets.

    Read More

  • A Critical Review of the Introduction (pp.xi-xvi) to Cumont, Franz, Astrology Among The Greeks and Romans, New York: Dover Publications 1960 (1911)

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clarke, Leonard W.‘Greek Astronomy and Its Debt to the Babylonians' The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 1, No. (Cambridge University Press. 1962)

    Read More

  • Bright Star essay

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Bright Star, Keats utilises a mixture of the Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet forms to vividly portray his thoughts on the conflict between his longing to be immortal like the steadfast star, and his longing to be together with his love. The contrast between the loneliness of forever and the intenseness of the temporary are presented in the rich natural imagery and sensuous descriptions of his true wishes with Fanny Brawne.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Controversy Of Elon Muske

    416 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the controversy surrounding Elon Musk’s supersonic train Hyperloop One, Samuel Staley writes about his opinion on the matter. The Hyperloop is discussed as a controversy based on its safety issues, futuristic design and doubt. In his article Stately disagrees that the hyperloop will be around in the near future like Musk claims, but states that it could happen in the future. Samuel Staley Has a Ph.D in public administration with concentrations in urban planning and public finance from Ohio State University. He is currently a senior research fellow at Florida State University.

    Read More

  • Black Holes

    1549 Words  | 4 Pages

    Every day we look into the night sky, wondering and dreaming what lies beyond our galaxy. Within our galaxy alone, there are millions upon millions of stars. This may be why it interests us to learn about all that we cannot see. Humans have known the existence of stars since they have had eyes, and see them as white glowing specks in the sky. The mystery lies beyond the white glowing specks we see but, in the things we cannot see in the night sky such as black holes.

    Read More

  • What Astronomy Really Is

    3723 Words  | 8 Pages

    I know that astronomy is getting more popular by the day since the comet came and all those people got killed. But that really did not have anything to do with astronomy, so I am not going to get into that. To me astronomy is really cool. If you have a telescope and it is a clear night you can see different constellations such as: Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Hercules, Pegasus, Perseus there are many more that is so cool. But it is even cooler to look up and see them in the sky. To do all of that you first have to be in the correct place. What you can do first is look for the north star, when you find that then you are all set. If you cannot find it just simply face north and look for the brightest star in that direction. If you still cannot find it buy a compass then hopefully you will find it. If you still cannot find it ask somebody, I made no grantee that you would find it these ways. That is really all I know about astronomy, but after this paper I bet you I will know a whole lot more.

    Read More

  • The Heavens and Earth

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    Historians and archeologists have found physical evidence that ancient civilizations had an active interest it the apparent motion of the celestial objects. Stonehenge in England, The Bighorn Medicine Wheel in the Unit...

    Read More

  • Math and Science of Ancient Greece, India, and China

    2061 Words  | 5 Pages

    Astronomy is a very important field in science. Ancient Greece, China, and India all contributed to our everyday ideas and uses of astronomy. Ancient Greece was the most influential because the Indian’s based most of their astronomy off of Greece. The Greeks created calendars that were based off of the eclipse cycle, which they called by two different names, Hellenic Calendars and Lunisolar Calendars. Because of Ancient Greece, we now have calendars to keep us on track every day. The Greeks observed a celestial object passing through the eastern and western morning sky. After a long time of observations, they came to a realization that it was a planet and now that is the planet is well known as Venus. (Sarton, 75) Plato and Aristotle’s theories were incredible contributions on us today. Both of their theories were all about the behavior and life of the planets, such as their theory that the earth is spherical. (Sarton, 421). Ancient Greece als...

    Read More

  • Why Should Humans Explore Space?

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    When considering this topic, one might ask themselves why explore space? We explore space to compare other planets with the earth and to study the sun, to explore the universe while finding if intelligent life exists, for satellites to improve communications, weather forecasting, navigation, resource monitoring, and “to create a focal point for a new intellectual renaissance” (Ruzic).

    Read More

  • Ancient Greek Astronomy

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since the first Egyptian farmers discovered the annual reappearance of Sirius just before dawn a few days before the yearly rising of the Nile, ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean have sought to explain the movements of the heavens as a sort of calendar to help guide them conduct earthly activities. Counting phases of the moon or observing the annual variations of day length could, after many years' collection of observations, serve as vital indicators for planting and harvesting times, safe or stormy season for sailing, or time to bring the flocks from winter to summer pastures. With our millennia of such observation behind us, we sometimes forget that seeing and recording anything less obvious than the rough position of sun or nightly change of moon phase requires inventing both accurate observation tools (a stone circle, a gnomon used to indicate the sun's shadow, a means to measure the position of stars in the sky) and a system of recording that could be understood by others. The ancient Greeks struggled with these problems too, using both native technology and inquiry, and drawing upon the large body of observations and theories gradually gleaned from their older neighbors across the sea, Egypt and Babylonia. Gradually moving from a system of gods and divine powers ordering the world to a system of elements, mathematics, and physical laws, the Greeks slowly adapted old ideas to fit into a less supernatural, hyper-rational universe.

    Read More

  • Cosmology Essay

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

        This paper discusses how cosmology and how philosophy can be connected to one another. In order to explain this reason, the paper is broken down into three subtitles which are: metaphysics, religion, and ontology. Each part connects to cosmology in one term or another. In each subtopic, it will discuss the topic, its background in the philosophical review. As a result, in the conclusion,  it will discuss how cosmology compares to them all.

    Read More

  • Space Travel Essay

    2712 Words  | 6 Pages

    Since the discovery of powered flight, man has endeavored to test the limits of traveling higher, faster and longer. With the advent of rocket technology in the early 20th century, “higher” came to mean orbiting the Earth, eventually culminating in NASA’s Apollo 11 mission to the moon. “Faster” meant setting record after record of speeds in excess of the sound barrier, with the very same Apollo missions reaching velocities of almost 25,000 miles per hour. “Longer” can currently be summated by the International Space Station (ISS), which has been continually manned for over 13 years; the longest single period of time in space for an individual in that span is 215 days. In the past few decades, many space programs around the world have experienced dwindling national and international interest, mirroring a decrease in funding. However, one aspect of space travel has recently begun to pique the interests of medical professionals in particular- the effects of long duration space travel on the human body. With recent technological advances, long term voyages through the cosmos have leapt from the pages of science fiction and into reality, with several public and private entities- including NASA- planning manned missions to Mars as soon as the year 2030. While that may seem a long way off from the present, research into the effects of extended cosmic voyages on human beings is still in its infancy, especially with regards to the potential effects such a journey might have on the psychological states of astronauts.

    Read More

  • Astronomy Essay

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ever since the beginning of time there have been stars. Not only stars in the sky, but moons, planets, and even galaxies! Astronomy is defined as the branch of science that deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole. In other words it is the study of space, planets, and stars. Throughout the ages, many people have used astronomy to help them learn about the universe, our own planet, and even make predictions about life itself. Understanding astronomy means understanding where it originated, the different groups/cultures that used it, and modern purposes of the science of the stars.

    Read More

More about Astronomy Essay

Open Document