Astronomers that changed our view of the world
Throughout history, scientists, known as astronomers, studied the cosmos, universe, space, whatever you want to call it. There are many, many, astronomers, some more famous than others. There are some astronomers still alive today, and some that died many years ago, yet their discoveries still influence even the smallest of everyday life. Turn on the tv, maybe it's a childrens show simply telling them about the moon and how it orbits the earth. Even a small thing like that came from many astronomers, many decades ago. Some of the most influential astronomers range from Aristotle to Galileo, and I'm going to discuss them, their findings, in the form of a sort of timeline.
Timeline
Aristotle
To get clear understanding of how much astronomy has evolved, we've got to go all the way back to ancient times. Back to Aristotle, often called the "grandfather of science". He was born 384 BC and died 322 BC. Aristotle was a philosopher, scientist and astronomer. He was the first person to prove that the earth was spherical, however he thought it was a perfect sphere which is inaccurate. Aristotle actually wasn't the first astronomer to suggest the world was spherical, but he was the first to prove it, he worked off of earlier research from Pythagoras and Anaxagoras. He also believed that the earth was the centre of the universe, which we now know is wrong. Unlike many astronomers after him, he didn't have to suffer many consequences as he was a very respected man, so respected that they even taught others his incorrect "discoveries". Also, there was no church at this time, and so he didn't have to worry about anyone nagging him for going against the holy book or anything else for that matter. Even though a lot of his theories were wrong, they inspired other astronomers, such as Nicolaus Copernicus to research more and finally find the answer. [Johnson, 2015].
To get clear understanding of how much astronomy has evolved, we've got to go all the way back to ancient times. Back to Aristotle, often called the "grandfather of science". He was born 384 BC and died 322 BC. Aristotle was a philosopher, scientist and astronomer. He was the first person to prove that the earth was spherical, however he thought it was a perfect sphere which is inaccurate. Aristotle actually wasn't the first astronomer to suggest the world was spherical, but he was the first to prove it, he worked off of earlier research from Pythagoras and Anaxagoras. He also believed that the earth was the centre of the universe, which we now know is wrong. Unlike many astronomers after him, he didn't have to suffer many consequences as he was a very respected man, so respected that they even taught others his incorrect "discoveries". Also, there was no church at this time, and so he didn't have to worry about anyone nagging him for going against the holy book or anything else for that matter. Even though a lot of his theories were wrong, they inspired other astronomers, such as Nicolaus Copernicus to research more and finally find the answer. [Johnson, 2015].
Ptolemy
Next up in the timeline is the one and only Ptolemy. Born in 90 AD, and died in 168 AD, Claudius Ptolemy lived in Egypt but had Greek ancestry. He was an astronomer and mathematician. He believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe. Even with this false theory, he was able to discover and predict the movement of planet using mathematics. He later published a work of his called the Almagesti. It explained everything he believed very mathematically and logically, however it was untrue. For his theories to be correct, he made it so that all the other planets moved in smaller circles, while the earth moved separately. He too, like aristotle, didn't suffer many consequences because the church agreed with him, and he was very respected. His untrue theories were taught for centuries. But it was those theories that inspired Copernicus to do more research and come up with a theory of his own, because even though Aristotle and Ptolemy both believed that the Earth was in the centre of the universe, their theories were inconsistent with each other, making Copernicus suggest a different option. [Chao, 2013].
Next up in the timeline is the one and only Ptolemy. Born in 90 AD, and died in 168 AD, Claudius Ptolemy lived in Egypt but had Greek ancestry. He was an astronomer and mathematician. He believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe. Even with this false theory, he was able to discover and predict the movement of planet using mathematics. He later published a work of his called the Almagesti. It explained everything he believed very mathematically and logically, however it was untrue. For his theories to be correct, he made it so that all the other planets moved in smaller circles, while the earth moved separately. He too, like aristotle, didn't suffer many consequences because the church agreed with him, and he was very respected. His untrue theories were taught for centuries. But it was those theories that inspired Copernicus to do more research and come up with a theory of his own, because even though Aristotle and Ptolemy both believed that the Earth was in the centre of the universe, their theories were inconsistent with each other, making Copernicus suggest a different option. [Chao, 2013].
Nicolaus Copernicus
Ah yes, good ol' Nicolaus Copernicus. I'm not going to do a whole bio on him here, as he's got his own page (lucky guy!) which you can check out by pressing the hyperlink. But anyway, about a thousand years after ptolemy, Copernicus came up with his own radical theory, that it's not actually the earth in the centre of the universe, but in fact the sun, which we all now know is true. Unlike the two astronomers before him, Copernicus did have many more consequences. Some parts of his ideas were accepted but lots more were simply too different for most people to agree with, such as his idea that the world spun on its axis. Those who did study his work did so in secret, and they were called Copernicans. Now, back to consequences. The Catholic Church liked Copernicus, so at first they simply told him to keep his ideas and works on the down-low, but after Copernicus died, his second written work was very much hated on and even banned for years. About 100 years had gone by until Copernicus's theories gained credence, but it was really Galileo who cemented his theories and brought them to the acceptance that they have today. [Johnson, 2015], [Chao, 2013].
Ah yes, good ol' Nicolaus Copernicus. I'm not going to do a whole bio on him here, as he's got his own page (lucky guy!) which you can check out by pressing the hyperlink. But anyway, about a thousand years after ptolemy, Copernicus came up with his own radical theory, that it's not actually the earth in the centre of the universe, but in fact the sun, which we all now know is true. Unlike the two astronomers before him, Copernicus did have many more consequences. Some parts of his ideas were accepted but lots more were simply too different for most people to agree with, such as his idea that the world spun on its axis. Those who did study his work did so in secret, and they were called Copernicans. Now, back to consequences. The Catholic Church liked Copernicus, so at first they simply told him to keep his ideas and works on the down-low, but after Copernicus died, his second written work was very much hated on and even banned for years. About 100 years had gone by until Copernicus's theories gained credence, but it was really Galileo who cemented his theories and brought them to the acceptance that they have today. [Johnson, 2015], [Chao, 2013].
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler, born in the year 1571 and died in 1630, defended and modified the Copernican view of the solar system with his ideas of orbits. Kepler was a mathematician, astrologer and astronomer. He was established as a great contributor to the Scientific Revolution of the 16th-17th centuries. Kepler came to the conclusion that planets do not travel in perfect circles, which is what Copernicus thought, but rather they have their own elliptical orbits around the sun. He is known for his laws of planetary motion, and was the first ever astronomer to get it correct. Kepler has had three works published, each about his three laws. The first was about the motion and movement/orbit of the planets, the second was about the speed and time the planets go at in their orbits, and his last and third law was about the distance at which planets were from the sun. Although he didn't get off consequence free, his books were not banned and he didn't get as much hate as Copernicus did, the Catholic Church were still very big stakeholders and wouldn't teach others what Kepler had discovered.
[NASA.com, 2013].
Johannes Kepler, born in the year 1571 and died in 1630, defended and modified the Copernican view of the solar system with his ideas of orbits. Kepler was a mathematician, astrologer and astronomer. He was established as a great contributor to the Scientific Revolution of the 16th-17th centuries. Kepler came to the conclusion that planets do not travel in perfect circles, which is what Copernicus thought, but rather they have their own elliptical orbits around the sun. He is known for his laws of planetary motion, and was the first ever astronomer to get it correct. Kepler has had three works published, each about his three laws. The first was about the motion and movement/orbit of the planets, the second was about the speed and time the planets go at in their orbits, and his last and third law was about the distance at which planets were from the sun. Although he didn't get off consequence free, his books were not banned and he didn't get as much hate as Copernicus did, the Catholic Church were still very big stakeholders and wouldn't teach others what Kepler had discovered.
[NASA.com, 2013].
Galileo
Galileo Galilei was born in the year 1564 and died in 1642, and he was an Italian physicist, engineer, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer. He made numerous scientific and astronomical discoveries. He had his own ideas of the motion of planets and the solar system, all opposed to what Aristotle had come up with. Galileo created a telescope that enlarged objects up to 20 times so that he could prove his ideas. He used his telescope to prove that Copernicus was in fact correct, and that all the planets in the solar system orbited the sun as it was in the centre, not the Earth. He published his observations, and the Catholic Church, at the time, was very tired of people going against what they said and so they punished Galileo for publishing his works. Galileo went to trial and was imprisoned for life. Although since he was getting old, they allowed his arrest to be in his own home. Towards the end he started going blind and died shortly afterwards. Out of all the astronomers listed here, he probably endured the most harsh consequences. Going blind in his own home where he died at the age of 77. It's sad, but even though he was imprisoned, people has still heard what he said and his discoveries and even read his works even though they were banned! He was inspired by many and inspired even more. [Johnson, 2015].
Galileo Galilei was born in the year 1564 and died in 1642, and he was an Italian physicist, engineer, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer. He made numerous scientific and astronomical discoveries. He had his own ideas of the motion of planets and the solar system, all opposed to what Aristotle had come up with. Galileo created a telescope that enlarged objects up to 20 times so that he could prove his ideas. He used his telescope to prove that Copernicus was in fact correct, and that all the planets in the solar system orbited the sun as it was in the centre, not the Earth. He published his observations, and the Catholic Church, at the time, was very tired of people going against what they said and so they punished Galileo for publishing his works. Galileo went to trial and was imprisoned for life. Although since he was getting old, they allowed his arrest to be in his own home. Towards the end he started going blind and died shortly afterwards. Out of all the astronomers listed here, he probably endured the most harsh consequences. Going blind in his own home where he died at the age of 77. It's sad, but even though he was imprisoned, people has still heard what he said and his discoveries and even read his works even though they were banned! He was inspired by many and inspired even more. [Johnson, 2015].
To sum up...
Of course, these aren't the only astronomers ever. There came many after, many before and many in between, but it was these whose legacy and discoveries still translate to this day. We are directly linked to these astronomers from ages, ages, ages ago! As science keeps developing and we keep exploring we use our instruments, science, math, reasoning, and creativity to learn more about the secrets of the Universe, which is exactly what they did before us! Overall, that was the timeline of some of the most influential astronomers, ever!
References for this page:
Chao, T., 2013. The most famous astronomers. [Online]
Available at: http://www.space.com/19215-most-famous-astronomers-history.html
[Accessed 30 August 2015].
Johnson, V., 2015. Early Astronomers. [Online]
Available at: http://www.librarypoint.org/early_astronomers
[Accessed 30 August 2015].
NASA.com, 2013. Johannes Kepler. [Online]
Available at: http://kepler.nasa.gov/Mission/JohannesKepler/
[Accessed 30 August 2015].
Rodriguez, J., 2009. Timeline. [Online]
Available at: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/PQTimeline/
[Accessed 30 August 2015].
Available at: http://www.space.com/19215-most-famous-astronomers-history.html
[Accessed 30 August 2015].
Johnson, V., 2015. Early Astronomers. [Online]
Available at: http://www.librarypoint.org/early_astronomers
[Accessed 30 August 2015].
NASA.com, 2013. Johannes Kepler. [Online]
Available at: http://kepler.nasa.gov/Mission/JohannesKepler/
[Accessed 30 August 2015].
Rodriguez, J., 2009. Timeline. [Online]
Available at: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/PQTimeline/
[Accessed 30 August 2015].