Astronomy has been a source for myriad ideas influencing every subject. The
stars have existed since the dawn of man. People have looked to the universe to
determine physical location, gain spiritual direction and to track time. Many
early scientists used astronomy to make careers for themselves and print their
names in all the history books of time.
Since the beginning of time, the stars and all of the heavens have been used
not only as a tool to aid in basic living but also to reveal new and
undiscovered things about the time and world people lived in. The times leading
up to the 17th Century were filled with many discoveries not only in astronomy
but also in mathematics and science. These discoveries lead to many uses from
the learned knowledge of these newfound discoveries. The view of the universe
at the time of the 17th Century was referred to as the Ptolemaic system. They
also believed that all things around the earth were perfect and unchanging.
Another popular theory at the time was the Copernican system. This is where the
sun is the center, rather than the sun.
One of the main scientists during the 17th Century was Galileo. He believed in
the Copernican system. When Galileo pointed his telescope to the sky, he made
many discoveries that confirmed the Copernican system. One thing he found was
that the moon was not a perfect sphere as thought of in
the Ptolemaic system; it had craters and mountains not visible to the human
eye. Another discovery Galileo made was that Jupiter had moons going around it.
This conflicted with the Ptolemaic system. It proved that the earth was not the
only planet with moons going around it. Galileo also found that Venus had
phases just like the Moon; this meant that it had to be orbiting the sun. He
also discovered that the sun had spots on it that could be used to see how the
earth orbits around it. These discoveries all contradicted the Ptolemaic system
and confirmed the Copernican system. In 1610, Galileo started to publish his
findings on the Copernican system|
In early explorations of the Earth, humans had only their five senses to lead
them. Traveling through the forest or venturing out at sea would have been
impossible if people had not realized that the stars stay relatively constant
in position above them. Following the stars and creating constellations allowed
mankind to develop its first system for tracking location and direction.
They developed star maps. By creating constellations and memorizing the
position of stars in the sky, an adventurer could determine what direction they
were facing and get a general idea about how far they had to go.
From all this observation spawned mathematics because people desired to
quantify what they saw in the sky. Astronomy led to the creation of statistics,
hydrostatics, optics, astronomy, engineering, geometry, and arithmetic.
Astronomers like Pheidias determined the diameters of the sun and the moon
using these new methods.
Using math they created devices to create inventions like telescopes. The
person most famous for his use with the telescope is arguably Galileo. Galileo
was the first to say that the Earth was not the center of the universe.
The universe has always been one of the primary inspirations for religion.and
superstition. People assign bodies in the universe god like attributes and
mystic abilities. Greeks believed the sky was a blanket with holes punched into
it and held up by the God Atlas. Astrology the pseudoscience was also developed
on the assumption that the stars followed a path of destiny and that humans
themselves were linked into this path. By watching the positions of the stars,
astrologers acted much like fortunetellers. Thousands of years ago, people took
astrology so seriously that astrologers were actually priests. This contrasts
the modern belief that astrologers are more philosophers used for guidance.
Man tracked time by watching the sun move through the sky. They would track
years, months and days by the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon. It
was also found that the sun was in certain positions in the sky at certain
times of the day. By observing this they could break the day into pieces.
Astronomy has been the basis for a great deal of progress for the human race.
It has led to inventions, theories, and philosophies that have influenced every
part of life. If people had never looked up, they would have never been able to
look forward.