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352 BCE
Aristotle
Aristotle supported the idea that all the planets and the stars rotate around the earth. He believed in a geocentric Universe and that the planets and stars were spheres though earth itself was not. He also believed that since the planets and stars were perfect and if the motions were circular, then the planets and stars could rotate forever. But today we know that all of this information is incorrect. But it was tought for many years -
132
Ptolemy
Ptolemy also believed in the geocentric theory. But eventually he was able to use what he saw in the stars movement and he combined it with mathematics and was able to come up with the theory called Almagesti. This said that the earth rotated on a Earth itself moved along an equant. Again he was wrong too. Then this theory was accepted for centuries. -
1508
Copernicus
Copernicus came up with the theory that the sun was in the center of the solar system rather than the earth. Even though he wasn't correct he helped many future scientists figure out what was really correct about the solar system. This theory was called the heliocentric solar system. He created a book about his theory it was called De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium means Copernicus in greek. -
1561
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe had some big contributions in order to create the most important precise instruments before the invention of the telescope. He was able to figure out positions of certain stars with all the instruments he had created. He was also able to show the moons orbit by using one of his instruments and he also was able to discover a new star in the Cassiopeia formation. -
Hans Lippershey
Hans Lippershey is known for the earliest written record of a refracting telescope. The States General granted Lippershey 900 florins for the instrument but required its modification into a binocular device. His telescopes were made available to Henry IV of France and others before the end of 1608. He reported the invention to Galileo, who promptly built his own telescope. -
Galileo
He also helped invent the telescope. While using the telescope he was able to figure out the phases of Venus. Another one of his contributions to astronomy was that he was able to use the telescope is that he was able to make observations of the four largest satellites of Jupiter. Also he was able to figure make observations of Saturn and the analysis of sunspots. -
Johhannes Kelper
Johhannes Kelper made many different discoveries these included the laws of planetary motion and some improvements to the telescope. Between the year 1609 and 1619 he created 3 laws of planetary motion. These included: First, planets orbit the Sun in an elliptical orbit, next was a line segment connecting a planet and the Sun will carve out equal areas in equal time, last was the period of a planet squared is proportional to the semimajor axis of its orbit cubed. -
Differences Between Refracting and Reflecting Telescopes
The differences between refracting and reflecting telescopes is a reflector telescope uses two mirrors instead of two lenses. the first lens on a refractor telescope is meant to gather the light coming from a distant object. The second lens is used to make the object larger for your eye. On the reflector telescope one mirror is used to gather light. the next mirrior is used to reflects this image to the eyepiece. -
Giovanni Cassini
Cassini discovered four satellites of the planet Saturn and noted the division of the rings of Saturn. The Cassini Division was named after him. The Cassini space probe was also named after him. The Cassini space probe, launched in 1997, was named after him and became the fourth to visit the planet Saturn and the first to orbit the planet. -
Sir Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton invented calculus and provided a clear understanding of optics. But Sir Isaac Newton most significant work had to do with forces and specifically with the development of a universal law of gravity. Sir Isaac Newton also created the laws of motion. Sir Isaac Newton also created a new type of mathematics called calculus. -
William Herschel
William Herschel found the planet Uranus and its two moons while using the telescope, and formulated a theory of stellar evolution. William Herschel invented the blueprint, and did botanical work. William Herschel named seven moons of Saturn and four moons of Uranus. William Herschel took up astronomy in 1816, building a reflecting telescope with a mirror 18 inches (460 mm) in diameter, and with a 20-foot (6.1 m) focal length. -
Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell founded the observatory to look for life on Mars and he thought he found it. Percival Lowell spent a lot of his time looking for Lowell founded the observatory to look for life on Mars and he thought he found it. Percival Lowell spent a lot of his time looking for Pluto but he was making it a bigger deal than it was. -
Ejnar Hertzsprung
Ejnar Hertzsprung classified types of stars by relating their colour to their absolute brightness, an accomplishment of fundamental importance to modern astronomy. In 1913 Ejnar Hertzsprung determined the distances to several Cepheid variable stars by statistica parallax, and was thus able to calibrate the relationship discovered by Henrietta Leavitt between Cepheid period and luminosity -
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein Formulated the theory of relativity which revolutionized modern astrophysics. Albert Einstein is also famous for beliving in/developing the theory of relativity. The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein, special relativity and general relativity. -
Edwin Hubble
In the 1920s, Edwin Hubble made history by looking through a 100-inch telescope at Mount Wilson in Southern California. Edwin Hubble discovered that while measuring distances and velocities in deep space, finding that the further apart galaxies are from each other, the faster they move away from one another. Albert Einstein personally thanked Hubble for the support his findings gave to his theory of relativity. -
Karl Jansky
Karl Jansky use a way that most modern astronomers use today. This was studying the Universe by tracing light waves through telescopes. Another way Karl Jansky studied the Universe is by studying radio waves. Karl Jansky was the man to discover the radio waves. -
Sputnic
A Sputnic was when each of a series of Soviet artificial satellites, the first of which was the first satellite to be placed in orbit. the Sputnic was a polished metal sphere, made of aluminum alloy. the Sputnic was the worlds first first artificial satellite and it was about the size of a beach ball. -
John Glenn
John Glenn was a United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. John Glenn was a millitary test flyer selected by NASA in 1959. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, and the fifth person and third American in space. -
Yuri Gargarin
Yuri Gagarin was the first person to fly in space. His flight lasted 108 minutes as he circled the Earth for a little more than one orbit. Yuri Gargarin mission was Vostok 1. No one could guarantee that the cosmonaut would stay conscious and be able to work in conditions of weightlessness. Because the spacecraft was operated in a fully automatic mode. -
Neil Armstrong
Neil Arm strong was the first person to land and step foot on the moon. He was on Gemini 8 mission. Neil Armstrong spent 8 days 14 hours 12 minutes in space. But he only spent 21 hours 36 minutes on the actual moon's surface. He joined the astronaut program in 1962 and was command pilot for his first mission, Gemini VIII, in 1966. -
The Apollo Program
The Apollo Program was disigned so we could safely land humans on the moon and safely bring them back. Apollo 7 and 9 were earth orbiting missions and did not return lunar data. Apollo 11 was the first to successfully land on the moon and return back safely. But shortly after Apollo missions 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were a success. -
The First Space Shuttle Flight
Navy test pilot Bob Crippen was the pilot of the first space shuttle flight. The First Space Shuttle Flight was the first reusable spacecraft ever. it flew up like a rocket but landed like an airplane. The first space shuttle flight orbited the earth 36 times. It was in space for 54.5 hours.The first space shuttle flight was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's -
Mars Pathfinder Expedition
Mars pathfinder expedition was the first robotic rover that ever touched the surface of mars. Mars pathfinder expedition was made to make a technology demonstration of a new way to deliver an instrumented lander. The Mars pathfinder expedition lasted three times longer than expected. It took the Mars pathfinder expedition seven months to reach mars surface. -
Cassini Orbiter
The Cassini was NASA's spacecraft. It dove into Saturn's atmosphere on September 15, 2017. Because we sent the Cassini Orbiter up to Saturn we now know what time it is on Saturn. The Cassini orbiter was a 4 year mission. The Cassini orbiter found that Saturn has methane rivers run to a methane sea. The Cassini orbiter was named the Cassini orbiter because it would constantly go up and orbit Saturn 20 orbits at a time.
