Transcript The Development of Astronomy in the Scientific Revolution

The Development of
Astronomy in the Scientific
Revolution
Helia Ludema
Period 6
Astronomy
The word astronomy is taken from the
Greek words for “star law”
 Its definition is the study of the universe or
anything beyond the world we live in
 There are two branches of Astronomy:
Optical and Non-Optical astronomy

Optical: They study of astronomical objects
visible to us
 Non-Optical: The study of objects not visible
to us through the use of instruments

Astronomy Cont.

Subfields:
Planetary: The study of planets and comets
 Solar: The study of the sun specifically
 Stellar: The study of how stars are born, how
they develop, and how they are destroyed
 Galactic: The study of the Milky Way to
determine how galaxies are formed
 Extragalactic: They study of other galaxies in
order to observe how they interact with one
another

Important Figures in Astronomy
Nicolaus Copernicus: Developed the
heliocentric theory of the solar system in
which planets revolve around the sun
 Johannes Kepler: Laws of planetary
motion



Planets move in an elliptical orbit rather than
circular
Galileo Galilei: First to use a telescope to
observe the solar system
Important Figures Cont.
Isaac Newton: Discovered calculus and
used it to describe the law of gravity
 Albert Einstein: Relation of energy to mass
(E=mc2) as well as corrections to
Newton’s law of gravity
 Tycho Brahe: Created instruments that
enabled him to decipher the positions of
the planets

Isaac Newton
Nicolaus
Copernicus
Johannes Kepler
Galileo Galilei
Background to the Scientific
Revolution
Began in the 16th century and flourished in
the 17th
 Influenced by the Enlightenment
 A period of time in which great
advancements were made in various fields
of science including astronomy
 Disproved prior beliefs about the scientific
world such as the principles of alchemy
(elixir of eternal life, the creation of gold
out of common metals, etc.)

Background to the Scientific
Revolution Cont.

Scientific societies and academies were
created as a result

Ex: Royal Society in
England, and Academy
of Sciences in France
This provided a means
of spreading scientific
knowledge and findings

The Growth of Astronomy
Advancements were sparked by, among
other things, Copernicus’s heliocentric theory
 This theory was built upon and expanded by
others such as Brahe and Kepler when
elliptical orbits were discovered
 The use of the telescope by Galileo also led
to the discovery of the phases of Venus as
well as moons orbiting Jupiter
 This shifted the entire world’s view on
scientific nature as major scientific facts
made by Aristotle were now disproved

The Growth of Astronomy Cont.
The next major advancement was three new
laws of motion discovered by Newton
 1) An object in motion will remain in motion
unless stopped by an outside force
 2) The concept of Inertia or how the
acceleration of an object relates to its mass
 3)For every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction
 Newton’s work with physics, light, and optics
also contributed greatly to the growth of
astronomy

Astronomy in Today’s World
Shocking discoveries are still being made
about the solar system
 An earth-like planet has been found in the
Libra constellation that has temperatures
close to earth’s as well as liquid water
 Enough ice has been found in the South
pole of Mars to cover the entire planet in
30 ft of water
 Evidence has been found that there may
be life on Mars

Astronomy in Today’s World Cont.
Rovers have been created to withstand
the harsh conditions on some planets
 More than 100
planets have been
discovered outside
our solar system
