Transcript SOLAR SYSTEM - Relativistic Astrophysics Research

Brief history of Astronomy
11/15/99
Norm Herr (sample file)
• Most ancient civilizations observed the heavens and
noticed patterns that were used for timekeeping and
as a navigational aid.
• These observations were sometimes used by the
ancients for Astrology.
• Can you think of any Irish evidence to show that
ancient civilizations made observations of the
movements of stars and planets?
these observations were sometimes used by the ancients for Astrology.
11/15/99
Norm Herr (sample file)
Tomb at Newgrange
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•
The passage tomb was constructed
in such a way that on the Winter
solstice light from the rising Sun
penetrates the main passage shining
into the inner chamber for just 17
minutes in the year.
•
Researchers have also discovered
evidence that Newgrange may have
been designed in order to allow light
from the Moon to enter the inner
chamber approximately every nine
years when the Moon’s path crosses
the position that the Winter solstice
Sun would occupy.
Norm Herr (sample file)
11/15/99
Norm Herr (sample file)
Stonehenge
• Stonehenge in southern England
is believed to be part of an
astronomical device which was
completed in 2000 B.C.
• A section of its structure called
the “avenue” points towards the
location at which the Sun rises in
the Summer solstice, and other
sight lines created by the
structure point towards the most
northern and southerly risings of
the Moon.
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Norm Herr (sample file)
Other Early Astronomers
• Early astronomy flourished in Central and South
America too where temples were built by the Mayan and
Aztec empires. These were often aligned with the rising
of a solstice Sun or other significant positions, such as
points where the planet Venus rose and set.
11/15/99
Norm Herr (sample file)
Astrology
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• Around 1200-1000 B.C., the
Babylonians studied astrology –
indeed they invented the 12
signs of the Zodiac that are still
used today. Around the same
time, the Greeks named most of
the stars and constellations in
the northern hemisphere (e.g.
Hercules, Perseus, Cassiopea,
Cygnus). They also named the
"the wandering stars", which we
now know to be planets. The
Greeks named these after their
gods, Mercury, Venus, Mars
Norm Herr
(sample
file)
and
Jupiter.