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240 BCE
Eratosthenes calculates tilt of earth
Eratosthenes was also the first to calculate the tilt of the Earth’s axis, which he figured with remarkable accuracy; the finding was reported by Ptolemy and the tilt was 23.5. This is important because it helped understand why seasons occur. -
240 BCE
Eratosthenes measures Earth circumfrence
Eratosthenes measured Earth's circumference mathematically using two surface points to make the calculation. He noted that the Sun's rays fell vertically at noon in Syene (now Aswān), Egypt, at the summer solstice.This is important because it allowed people to realize just how big Earth was. It also was one of the first major trumpihs of science calculations. -
150 BCE
Claudius Ptolemy develops geocentric solar system
Cladius Ptolemy developed the geocentric solar system which was the theory and system that placed the stellar universe on a crystal sphere. His theory said that Earth stood still and the sun orbited Earth that would make days and nights. This was an important discovery because it was a starting point that soon created the heliocentric theory. -
150 BCE
Claudius ptolemy almagest
Cladius Ptolemy made a book called Almagest that was a mathematical and astronomical treatise about the motions and to predict the motions of celestical objects. It helped and was important because it helped people back in history determine where celestial objects would be in the sky. -
1514
Nicolaus Copernicus proposed Heliocentric system
Nicolaus Copernicus proposed Heliocentric system which was the system that suggested the sun was in the center of the solar system and all other planets around it orbited the sun. Instead of the Earth being the center of the solar system. His system took more than a century to be widely accepted. This discovery was important because it was the stepping stool and current theory we use and explained how the earth moved on a mathematical level. -
Nov 11, 1572
Tycho Brahe discovers Cassiopeia
Tycho Brahe discovered cassiopeia which was a supernova. Brahe the star's formation. He noticed a bright light in the star and saw how the light was fading away. This is important because many people didn't know things could change beyond the moon. -
1577
Tycho Brahe comets
Tycho Brahe discovered that comets could occur in other places than just our solar system and that they could move in other areas far beyond our atmosphere. This is important because many people believed that comets were just realitve to Earth. -
Kepler's first law
Johanne Kepler discovered that planets move in ellipitcal paths around the Sun. The law states that the planet follows the ellipse in its orbit, meaning that the planet to Sun distance is constantly changing as the planet goes around its orbit. This is important because it changed the way we thought about orbits and also helped explain the heliocenteric view of the solar system and explained why objects could get stuck in some orbits. -
Kepler's first law
Johanne Kepler discovered that planets move in ellipitcal paths around the Sun. The law states that the planet follows the ellipse in its orbit, meaning that the planet to Sun distance is constantly changing as the planet goes around its orbit. This is important because it changed the way we thought about orbits and also helped explain the heliocenteric view of the solar system and explained why objects could get stuck in some orbits. -
Kepler's second law
Johanne Kepler made a second law characteriziedthe velocity of a planet along its elliptical path. Kepler's Second Law says says that a line running from the sun to the planet sweeps out equal areas of the ellipse in equal times. This means that the planet speeds up as it approaches the sun and slows down as it departs from it. This is important because it helped us understand why planets have seasons. -
Newton reflecting telescope
Newton created the reflecting telescope that helped him see different colores. He concluded that any telescope using lenses (refracting telescope) would suffer from the same colour dispersion (chromatic aberration). He therefore constructed a telescope using reflective surfaces instead of lenses which did in fact solve the problem of chromatic aberration. This is important because it showed proof for his theory that white light is composed of a spectrum of colours -
Newton explains universal gravity
Newton was the first to explain that objects are pulled down to Earth by a force called gravity, and not only are objects pulled down, but Earth is also pulled up by gravity.This is important because the concept of gravity and the gravity between planets and moons in the solar system. Scientists finally have an explanation for how we are orbiting the Sun. -
Albert Einstein relativity
Albert Einstien discovered his general theory of relativity holds that what we perceive as the force of gravity arises from the curvature of space and time. The scientist proposed that objects such as the sun and the Earth change this geometry. This is important because the theory of relativity explains the behavior of objects in space and time, and it can be used to predict things such as the existence of black holes, light bending due to gravity and the behavior of planets in their orbits.