History of Astronomy Flashcards
He made the first accurate measurement of the Earth’s circumference (approx. 40,250 km)
Erastothenes
He believed that the Earth was at the center of the Universe, and that the sun and other planets revolved around the Earth. (Geocentric)
Claudius Ptolemy
He determined the axial tilt of the Earth.
Al - Battani
He found out that the Earth rotated on it’s own axis.
Al - Biruni
Was persecuted by the Catholic church because of his Heliocentric Model of the universe (Sun is in the center of the universe).
Nicolas Coppernicus
Altered the Heliocentric model wherein the Earth is the center while the Sun orbits around the Earth. At the same time, the other planets orbit the Sun.
Tycho Brahe
Invented the spyglass but did not point it at the sky.
Hans Lippershey
Used his own spyglass to observe the night sky.
Galileo Galilei
Created a telescope using mirrors instead of lenses; developed the three laws of motion and the law of gravitation.
Sir Isaac Newton
Created the laws of planetary motion.
Johannes Kepler
He suggested that the universe is infinite.
Giordano Bruno
Discovered Uranus and developed the theory of Stellar Evolution
William Hershel
Discovered the stellar parallax, which helped observe the movement of stellar objects (stars) from Earth.
Friedrich Bessel
Determined that the rings of Saturn is made of small orbiting bodies (dust, rock, and ice).
James Clerk Maxwell
Observed that distant galaxies are moving away from each other, implying that the universe is expanding.
Edwin Hubble
