Ancient Astronomers

Eratosthenes

240 BCE

During a time when most people thought the Earth was flat, Eratosthenes was able to use the Sun to measure the size of Earth. According to NASA, he was only 211 miles off count.

Claudius Ptolemy

150 BCE

Ptolemy made a mathmatical model of the universe. He hypothosized that the Sun, Moon, and planets had irregular paths from a combination of several circular motions seen from Earth. Claudius Ptolemy's ideas had a profound impact on medieval science and furthered discoveries that were made in the future.

Nicolaus Copernicus

1514

Nicolaus Copernicus's most famous theory was that the Earth revolved around the Sun. This theory was important because during this time, many believed that the Earth was at the center of our universe. Nicolaus's new model of the solar system was a direct challenege.

Tycho Brahe

1573

Brahe's most notable achievement, was his discovery of a new star in 1573. His discovery challenged the idea that the night sky was unchanging and was to stay the same forever.

Johannes Kepler

1609

Kepler was able to determine that planets traveled around the Sun in ellipses, not circles. This discovery was crucial in calculating Kepler's three laws that astronomers use in calculations still today.

Sir Isaac Newton

1687

Sir Newton is most famous for his work on gravity. Newton theorosized that the law of gravity could be stretched even furhter to the moon and even our solar system. Without Sir Isaac Newton's laws the field of science would loo much different, and we wouldn't have all the explanations.

Albert Einstein

1915

Albert Einstein is most famous for his theory of relativity and gravitation. Einstein's theories were proven, and helped make great leaps possible in physics and revolutionized science and philosophy.