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Sep 12, 1500
Molecular theory of matter
The Greek philosopher Anaxagoras becomes arguably the first to formulate a kind of molecular theory of matter, and to regard the physical universe as subject to the rule of rationality or reason -
Sep 12, 1543
heliocentric model
Copernicus published his heliocentric model according to wich the planets revolved around the sun -
Sep 12, 1543
Nicoloaus Copernicous
The Polish astronomer and polymath Nicolaus Copernicus proposes that the Earth rotates on its axis once daily and travels around the Sun once a year, and demonstrates that the motions of celestial objects can be explained without putting the Earth at rest in the centre of the universe -
Sep 12, 1546
Moon and sun orbit the earth
Eccentric Astronomer Tycho Brahe believed that the Moon and Sun orbited the Earth but the other planets orbited the Sun. -
The 3 laws of planetary Motion
The German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler establishes his three Laws of Planetary Motion, mathematical laws that describe the motion of planets in the Solar System, including the ground-breaking idea that the planets follow elliptical, not circular, paths around the Sun. Newton later used them to deduce his own Laws of Motion and his Law of Universal Gravitation. -
Galileo and his telescope
Galileo used a telescope for the first time to observe thye night sky. This was the birth of modern astronomy -
Astronomical telescope by Galileo Galilei and a italian mathematician
The Italian mathematician and physicist Galileo Galilei develops an astronomical telescope powerful enough to indentify moons orbiting Jupiter, sunspots on the Sun and the different phases of Mercury, all of which are instrumental in convincing the scientific community of the day that the heliocentric Copernican model of the Solar System is superior to the geocentric Ptolemiac model. -
Rene Descartes
The French philosopher René Descartes outlines a model of a static, infinite universe made up of tiny “corpuscles” of matter, a viewpoint not dissimilar to ancient Greek atomism. Descartes’ universe shares many elements of Sir Isaac Newton’s later model, although Descartes’ vacuum of space is not empty but composed of huge swirling whirlpools of ethereal or fine matter, producing what would later be called gravitational effects. -
unequal weights
Galileo Galilei demonstrates that unequal weights would fall with the same finite speed in a vacuum, and that their time of descent is independent of their mass. Thus, freely falling bodies, heavy or light, have the same constant acceleration, due to the force of gravity. -
Light is composed by particles
1675 - The English physicist Sir Isaac Newton argues that light is composed of particles, which are refracted by acceleration toward a denser medium, and posits the existence of “aether” to transmit forces between the particles. -
hierachical universe
The Swedish scientist and philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg proposes a hierarchical universe, still generally based on a Newtonian static universe, but with matter clustered on ever larger scales of hierarchy, endlessly being recycled. This idea of a hierarchical universe and the “nebular hypothesis” were developed further (independently) by Thomas Wright (1750) and Immanuel Kant (1775). -
hierachichal universe
1761 - The Swiss physicist Johann Heinrich Lambert supports Wright and Kant’s hierarchical universe and nebular hypothesis, and also hypothesizes that the stars near the Sun are part of a group which travel together through the Milky Way, and that there are many such groupings or star systems throughout the galaxy. -
theoretical idea
1783 - The amateur British astronomer John Michell proposes the theoretical idea of an object massive enough that its gravity would prevent even light from escaping (which has since become known as a black hole). He realizes that such an object would not be directly visible, but could be identified by the motions of a companion star if it was part of a binary system. A similar idea was independently proposed by the Frenchman Pierre-Simon Laplace in -
voyager 1 and 2 were launched
In 1977, Voyager 1 and 2 were launched. Their primary mission was to visit Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 continued onto Uranus and Neptune; Voyager 1 has now made its way into interstellar spac -
Makemake
Dwarf planet Makemake was discovered at Easter 2005 -
Journey to mars in the feture
NASA is working hard to send humans to an asteroid by the mid-2020s and Mars in the 2030s. The powerful new Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft will travel into deep space, building on our decades of robotic Mars exploration, lessons learned on the International Space Station, and groundbreaking new technologies.
