History of Astronomy

  • 322 BCE

    Aristotle

    Aristotle
    Born in 384 BC and died in 322 BC, proved the earth was spherical, that it was the center of the universe, and sun the moon and the stars rotated around the earth.
  • 120 BCE

    Hipparchus

    Hipparchus
    Born in 190 BC and died in 120 BC, discovered the precession of the equinoxes, calculated the length of the year to within 6 1/2 minutes, compiled the first known star catalog, calculated the difference between the earth and the moon, and made an early formulation of trigonometry.
  • 170

    Ptolemy

    Ptolemy
    born in 100 AD and died in 170 AD, ancient astronomer, geographer, and mathematician who considered the Earth the center of the universe.
  • May 21, 1543

    Copernicus

    Copernicus
    born Feb. 19 1473 and died May 21, 1543 ,Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who put forth the theory that the Sun is at rest near the center of the Universe(Heliocentric), and that the Earth, spinning on its axis once daily, revolves annually around the Sun.Father of the scientific method
  • Tycho Brahe

    Tycho Brahe
    born December 14, 1546 and died Oct. 24, 1601, Alchemist, astrologer, astronomer, supporter of the geocentric theory of the solar system, and made accurate observations of planetary positions.
  • Refracting Telescope

    Refracting Telescope
    made in 1608 by Hans Lippershey and it uses two lenses unlike the reflecting telescope.
  • Hans lippershey

    Hans lippershey
    1570-1619, a dutch eyeglass maker that was associated with the invention of the telescope cause he’s the first to obtain a patent. His telescope was 3x.
  • Johannes Kepler

    Johannes Kepler
    born in 1571 and died in 1630 was a german astronomer that discovered three major laws of planetary motion, and worked w/ Brahe. Discovered that the orbits of the planets are not circular but oval.
  • Galileo

    Galileo
    Feb. 15 1564 and died Jan. 8 1642, from Italy Italian Polymath that discovered Jupiter’s moons Lo, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto. He was a central figure transition from natural philosophy to modern science. One of the first telescope makers. Discovered stars aren’t fixed to shells, and discovered sunspots.
  • Reflecting Telescope

    Reflecting Telescope
    made in 1668 by Isaac Newton , and was different from the refracting telescope because it used two mirrors instead of two lenses.
  • Giovanni Cassini

    Giovanni Cassini
    born in 1625 died in 1712 was an Italian that discovered the Cassini Division which was the dark gap between Saturn’s a and b rings, also the four of Saturn’s moons, and was one of the first to record observations of the zodiac light.
  • Sir Isaac Newton

    Sir Isaac Newton
    born in 1642 and died in 1727, three laws of motion, invented the reflecting telescope.
  • William Herschel

    William Herschel
    1738-1822 Discovered Uranus and its moons, 2 more of Saturn’s moons, believed he found polar ice on mars leading to the studies hoping to find water on mars. He determined the temperature of colors.
  • Percival lowell

    Percival lowell
    1855 - 1916, discovered the planet Pluto and studied the canalis on mars. Built the Lowell observatory in Flagstaff, AZ to study Mars.
  • Karl Jansky

    Karl Jansky
    1905-1950 Discovered radio waves are coming from earth.Radio waves are the longest types o.f energy ways
  • Edwin Hubble

    Edwin Hubble
    1889-1953 using the color of star, discovered that the universe is expanding. Hubble’s law, galaxies are moving away from each other. Basis of the big band theory.
  • Sputnik

    Sputnik
    1957 October, 4 7:28 The importance of sputnik to the U.S. In the midst of the cold war, Russia was successful in launching the first satellite into space to orbit Earth. Putting the Soviet Union ahead of the U.S. Science & space travel became a new priority for the U.S. and the educational system. In 1958 president Dwight Eisenhower created NASA Begins “The Space Race”
  • Yuri Gagarin

    Yuri Gagarin
    1961 First human to orbit earth 108 minutes.
  • Period: to

    Apollo Program

    1961- 1972 Designed program to bring them to the moon and make sure they get back.
  • John Glenn

    John Glenn
    1921- 2016 (1962)- 1st U.S. Citizen to orbit Earth 3x
  • Ejnar Hertzsprung

    Ejnar Hertzsprung
    1873- 1967 Danish chemist and astronomer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • Neil Armstrong

    Neil Armstrong
    1969 walks on the moon. Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz, Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969.
  • First space Shuttle Flight

    First space Shuttle Flight
    1981- Launched straight up, detaches and when comes down lands like a plane
  • Mars pathfinder

    Mars pathfinder
    1996-Launched Dec.4, 1996 than landed July, 4 by NASA and costed 150 million dollars, and it was an american robotic spacecraft that landed on mars in 1997.
  • Cassini Orbiter

    Cassini Orbiter
    Oct.15 1997- sep.15 2017, and was a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency to send a probe to study the planet Saturn and its system, including its rings and natural satellitesAlso its named after Jean-Domenique Cassini, who discovered the Saturnian satellites Lapetus in 1671, Rhea in 1672, and both Tethys and Dione in 1684.
  • SpaceX Falcon Heavy

    SpaceX Falcon Heavy
    Feb, 6 2018 Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX.