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1 BCE
Old astronomy
Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, mythological, cosmological, calendrical, and astrological beliefs and practices of prehistory: vestiges of these are still found in astrology, a discipline long interwoven with public and governmental astronomy, and not completely disentangled from it until a few centuries ago in the Western Wordl. In some cultures, astronomical data was used for astrological prognostication. -
220
Astronomy in the oldest science
The ancient Greeks inherited astronomical records from the Babylonians and applied the data to cosmos map.
Eratosthenes (220 B.C.) - The early Greeks knew the Earth was a sphere based on the shadow of Earth on the Moon during lunar eclipses. Eratosthenes proceeded to use this information to measure circumference of Earth in the following manner; he knew that on a certain date that a stick placed in the ground at Syene cast no shadow. Whereas, a stick at Alexandria has a small shadow. -
Telescopes
The first person to apply for a patent for a telescope was a Dutch eyeglass maker named Hans Lippershey (or Lipperhey). In 1608, Lippershey tried to lay claim on a device with three-times magnification. His telescope had a concave eyepiece aligned with a convex objective lens. Telescopes were developedwith provided bigger and better images of celestial bodies.Telescopes of today use mirrorsw for have a better image -
Nebulas
The Dumbbell Nebula (M27) was the first planetary nebula discovered, by Charles Messier in 1764.
A nebula is a truly wondrous thing to behold. Named after the Latin word for “cloud”, nebulae are not only massive clouds of dust, hydrogen and helium gas, and plasma; they are also often “stellar nurseries” ,the place where stars are born. And for centuries, distant galaxies were often mistaken for these massive clouds. -
Stars
Stars are cosmic energy engines that produce heat, light, ultraviolet rays, x-rays, and other forms of radiation. They are composed largely of gas and plasma, a superheated state of matter composed of subatomic particles.Some stars have always stood out from the rest. Their brightness is a factor of how much energy they put out, which is called their luminosity, and also how far away from Earth they are. -
Comets
A comet is an icy body that releases gas or dust. They are often compared to dirty snowballs, though recent research has led some scientists to call them snowy dirtballs. Comets contain dust, ice, carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane and more. Astronomers think comets are leftovers from the gas, dust, ice and rocks that initially formed the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. -
Galaxies
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is typical: it has hundreds of billions of stars, enough gas and dust to make billions more stars, and at least ten times as much dark matter as all the stars and gas put together. And it’s all held together by gravity.There are three types of galaxies Spiral,Irregular and Elliptical. -
Old science
About 2.3 million years ago our very earliest ancestors invented their first primitive tool, the split stone, which they used for cutting and scraping. For the next 1 million years early humans gradually learned to customize stone tools and use fire.
