History Of Astronomy

Question 1

What are the five eras of astronomy?

Answer 1

Ancient(Dawn of History to 5th century)
Medieval(5th to 15th century)
Renaissance(Copernican revolution to mid 17th)
Modern(Newtons Gravitation to 19th)
20th Century to Present(Einsteins Relativity to now)

Question 2

What were common beliefs in primitive astronomy?

Answer 2

Flat Earth or Solid Earth with watery underworld

Question 3

What two civilizations were the first to study the skies?

Answer 3

Babylonians and Chaldeans

Question 4

What people were the first to record their observations?

Answer 4

The Chinese

Question 5

The Greeks believed that-

Answer 5

Earth was flat with a rotating sphere above.

Question 6

The Greeks were the first to suggest what about the Earths shape?

Answer 6

Suggest a round Earth.

Question 7

What did the Greeks propose but was not accepted?

Answer 7

That the Earth was NOT the center of the universe.

Question 8

Why was the idea that the Earth was not the center of the universe accepted?

Answer 8

It made the Earth seem inferior.

Question 9

What is believing that the Earth is the center of the universe called?

Answer 9

Geocentric

Question 10

What was a system that described how planets orbited the Earth?

Answer 10

Ptolemaic System which was accepted by the church.

Question 11

What landmark was used to measure the circumference of the Earth?

Answer 11

Eratosthenes of Cyrene(Shahhat, Libya)

Question 12

When was Copernicus born? What did he do?

Answer 12

1473, he determined that our system was heliocentric. He waited until his death(1543) to publish.

Question 13

Who is Tycho Brahe

Answer 13

A Danish astronomer born in 1546.

Question 14

What did Kepler do?

Answer 14

Created 3 laws of planetary motion, also collected data supporting heliocentric theory.

Question 15

What did Galileo Galilei do?

Answer 15

Born in 1564 he proposed the heliocentric theory to the church but was forced to recant views.

Question 16

Galileo’s finger is where?

Answer 16

In a Church(vase).

Question 17

Sir Isaac Newton invented what?

Answer 17

Laws of Gravitation, Physics, Mathematics, Principa Mathematica.

Question 18

Herschel discovers Uranus when?

Answer 18

1784

Question 19

Halle found Neptune when?

Answer 19

1846

Question 20

What new accomplishments did man do in the 20th century?

Answer 20

New Gravitational Theories
Flight
Space flight
Man in space and moon
Hubble Space Telescope 1986

Question 21

Who proved there were more galaxies?

Answer 21

Edwin Hubble

Question 22

What’s the newest telescope and what does it do?

Answer 22

James Web Space Telescope, picks up infrared wavelengths.

Question 23

What are Latitude lines?

Answer 23

Horizontal lines
North Pole: 90 degrees/90N
South Pole: -90 degrees/90S

Question 24

What are lines of longitude?

Answer 24

Vertical Lines
Prime Meridian: 0 degrees
North Pole: 180 degrees
South Pole: -180 degrees

Question 25

What are the coordinates on the sky?

Answer 25

Lines of Declination similar to Latitude.

Lines of right ascension similar to longitude.

Question 26

What are the lines of right ascension measured in?

Answer 26

Hours(0->24)

Question 27

What are the celestial poles?

Answer 27

Equivalent to the poles but in the sky. (North/South Celestial Poles)

Question 28

What is the celestial equator?

Answer 28

The equivalent to the equator but in the sky.