...created through bonds which stretch beyond heritage. Through this I have been provided the opportunity to learn values by embracing this unique mixture of cultures and am able to work with a large variety of people more efficiently because of my understanding of different life styles. I have also grownup in a community with a strong astronomy influence through the importance it holds in Hawaiian culture and astronomical studies. This has influence introduced me to astronomy and showed me a way I can do something I love while also benefitting the place which provided me with the opportunity. Through the opportunity...
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...Numerous people confuse astrology with astronomy when they actually have several differences. Mankind's known history of the universe and today's scientific knowledge are ways to tell the two apart. Astronomy is the study of matter outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomy studies the chemical and physical properties of outer space. Astrology also studies the effects of apparent influence of the stars on human life. The position and movement of stars throughout the night sky determine the effects. Although astrology and astronomy both study celestial objects, astronomy is different because astronomy studies the actual bodies and the physical effects their motions have on the Earth and other planets. Before the time of astronomy, most people believe the Earth was flat. Most cultures also believe they were in the center of the universe and all life gravitates around them. Aristarchus is one of the first people to voice his belief that the world revolves around the sun and not the other way around. People ridicule such outrageous remarks, so they disregard Aristarchus’ vision for some time. That is until around the 1500s, when Nicolaus Copernicus creates the first heliocentric model of our solar system. In this model, the sun is not the center of the model, but actually slightly off center towards one side. Galileo is extremely well known in the astronomical world. He introduces the law of time and how objects at such given distances can be easily measured by time. Galileo creates...
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...Astronomy or Astrology? Have you ever finally just gave in to the temptation and read your horoscope in the newspaper on Sunday morning? Sure, we all have. For most of us, itís a curiosity, an amusement to see what they say our day will be like based on the sign of the zodiac that we were born under. Sometimes we forget that this little diversion is actually part of an ancient science called astrology that has had a powerful effect on many cultures dating back to centuries before Christ. That is not to say that astrology is a dead art today. It is easy to find astrology advocates in every town, advertising in the newspaper and on television trying to convince us that they can tell our fortune, our future and help cure our ills by exploring the mysteries of astrology. When you are a lover of astronomy, the confusion between astronomy and astrology by those who donít really understand the differences can get pretty aggravating. And in early civilizations, the two disciplines were not separate. Astrology was just the religious side of the science of astronomy. So what changed? The most significant shift that set in motion the separation of the two lines of thought began in the first century when Ptolemy wrote the very first book on astronomy called the Tetrabiblos. In it, he began to suggest that astronomy should be considered a separate science from astrology. It was quite a revolutionary book because it also was the first scientific document to suggest that...
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...A Scientific Biography of Cecilia Payne: Women in Astronomy When someone mentions some of the famous astronomers, what we always hear are names like Isaac Newton, Edwin Hubble or Harlow Shapely. However, there was actually one name among the 20th century astronomers that did occasionally come up, separated itself from the mainstream, and broke down the major barriers of sciences. That is the name of Cecilia Payne, who succeeded in working with the astrophysics of stellar composition. Born in Wendover, England in 1900, Cecilia developed an interest in astronomy when she was at the age of five after witnessing a meteor in the sky. In the year 1919, Cecilia won a scholarship to enter the Newham College at Cambridge, however, with the intention to study botany at first. The attraction of astronomy didn’t dominate her life until she had a chance to attend Sir Arthur Eddington’s lecture on Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Cecilia was so enthusiastic that after the lecture, she was able to “write out virtually verbatim what she had heard, later checking it as correct against a printed version”(Wayman 1.27). And it was the same enthusiasm that made her give up botany and turn towards astronomy. However, her career of astronomy wasn’t a smooth sailing at all time. Not only that women were not granted degrees at Cambridge at the time when Cecilia completed her studies, Cecilia also had experienced a feeling of discrimination especially when one of her professors...
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...Astronomy: Then and Now Have you ever heard the saying you can’t teach an ole dog new tricks? What about the one where three old dogs teach new tricks? I’m sure you have heard that one, anyone who knows about our solar system can thank the three old dogs. Well, they’re not dogs at all, and at their time they weren’t old but in our time their long gone. Of course, I am speaking about Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Kepler. Funny thing is each one of them challenged and changed their predecessor's work, for the better of course, but we will get to that later. We have these three men to thank for a whole lot of new tricks. To name a few would be, our solar system, the way we form our maps, and we can’t forget the numerous mathematical formulas used to make ideas come to life. In this research paper, we will touch base on the lives of three great astronomers and the tricks they have taught us. We will also see how astronomers of today contribute to our everyday lives. Some say that our first astronomer was a great astronomer. Other say, “Ptolemy was the only great astronomer of Roman Alexandria.” (Brown, 2016) It’s all a matter of opinion, but what we cannot deny was Ptolemy was a great astronomer of his time and today. We do not know much about Ptolemy’s personal life. What we do know about him came from his work. He was born around 85ce in Egypt to a Greek family even though he bore a roman name. To say Ptolemy was diverse is an understatement. He was also diverse in his studies...
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...system, because all of the planets orbit the Sun. 2) What is our Milky Way galaxy and the sun’s position in it? a. The Milky Way galaxy is where our solar system is located in the universe. b. The Milky Way galaxy is home to over 100 billion stars and the Sun is one of those stars. 3) What is the Big Bang and what does it say about the age of the universe? a. The Big Bang is when the universe began. b. The Big Bang is thought to have happened about 14 billion years ago. 4) What is meant by the phase “looking out in the universe is looking back in time?” a. When viewing the universe we see a vast amount of stars. b. The light from stars must travel great distances to reach us, and these distances take years. c. So when we see a star we are seeing the star as it was when the light first started traveling. b. Where are we in the universe? 1) What is Earth’s place in the solar system? a. The Earth is our home. b. The Earth is the only planet known to sustain human life. 2) How close are the nearest stars to the Sun as compared to the distance between the Sun and the Earth? 3) How large is our Milky Way galaxy? a. The Milky Way galaxy is home to our solar system. b. The Milky Way galaxy has a 100,000 light-year diameter. 4) How many stars are estimated to exist in our galaxy? a. There are roughly 100 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. b. So many stars that it would take someone’s entire life plus many more years to count them all. 5) How old is the earth compared...
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...The Scientific Revolution and the Birth of Astronomy Many people today question the purpose of religion and, rather than warship the bible and adhere to papal infallibility, focus on coming up with new ideas, scientific approaches, and solutions to answer the infinite amount of questions life has to offer. Challenging the ideas found in tradition and religious faith is not a new concept invented by recent generations. In circa 1550 AD, one of the most dramatic social transformations ever faced by human nature came and with it brought a new-founded age of Science. It altered the way society perceived life and led to many innovations. This social transformation is known as the Scientific Revolution, and in it spawned new generations of philosophers,...
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...University of Phoenix Material Basics of Astronomy Worksheet Complete the table based on the readings for this week: Ch. 1–4 of The Essential Cosmic Perspective. |Term or concept |Definition and explanation | |The Universe | | | | | |What is Earth’s Sun, and what is its role in the solar system? | | |What is the Milky Way galaxy and the sun’s position in it? | | |What is the Big Bang, and what does it say about the age of the | | |universe? | | |What is meant by the phase “looking out in the universe is looking | | |back in time?” | | |Location in the Universe ...
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...University of Phoenix Material Basics of Astronomy Outline Amanda Taddei 8-27-2012 Complete the outline based on the readings for this week: Ch. 1–4 of The Cosmic Perspective. Use complete sentences for all sub points listed. The following is an example of a completed outline: 1. Our place in the universe a. The modern view of the universe 1) What is our Sun and what is its role in the solar system? a) Our sun is a hot ball of glowing gases that is at the heart of our solar system. b) Our suns role is to give out energy and heat. This energy and heat allows for there to be life on earth. However, even though our sun is unique and life giving there are billions of stars that are just like it in the Milky Way galaxy. (Solar System Exploration, 2012) 2) What is our Milky Way galaxy and the sun’s position in it? a) The Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy that has arms that extend out from the center like a pinwheel. Our galaxy is one of about 100 billion visible universes. (Solar System Exploration, 2012) b) The sun’s posistion in the galaxy is in the Orions arm of the Mily Way. However, because of how our planets are set up in our system there is life on Earth. The Sun has an almost circular orbit. The sun is just the right distance from the center of our galaxy to promote life. The planets and our sun are just the right distance apart for one of our planets, Earth, to have higher intelegance life on it. 3) What is the Big Bang and what does...
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...scientific authority was also in progress, a radical shift in thought that later became known as the Scientific Revolution. Scientists in all fields were beginning to question the wisdom of the ancient philosophers who had molded their disciplines. They gradually began rely on objective facts and observation and to turn away from the mysticism, religion, and unfounded theorizing that had previously dominated the field. This drastic change in scientific practices and beliefs was most apparent in the field of astronomy. Physics and astronomy had been dominated by the work of Aristotle, a philosopher from the time of ancient Greece, and Ptolemy, an astronomer from the second century A.D. Astronomy was rooted in both philosophy and theology, and it was difficult for scientists to separate their work from that of the mystics or the clergy. Through the work of the four fathers of the astronomical revolution, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton, both the practice of astronomy and man's view of the universe were...
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...for its comprehension. Hundreds if not thousands of astronomers throughout the ages added some valuable pieces of information to astronomical big picture. As Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin brilliantly putted in her 1976 speech " [...] The old scientist cannot claim that the masterpiece is his own work. He may have roughed of part of the design, laid on a few strokes , but he has learned to accept the discoveries of others with the same delight that he experienced on his own[...] (Astronomy Today, Chap. 16, p 383) What we know today about the universe is a collective work of many generation of dedicated man and woman who continue to add new insight of astronomy great spectrum of universe. Some scholars may add a little, some may add a lot, yet some may change our understanding of a matter in question. Such man were Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton. Those man are credited with revolutionizing the study of astronomy. The heliocentric theory formulated by Copernicus caused strong turmoil within astronomy, physics and cosmology. Many man of science considered it as contrary to Aristotle’s physics and the Bible. However, some astronomers were engaged in...
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...Australia’s indigenous people, the world’s oldest astronomers There is growing evidence that aboriginal people may be the oldest astronomers in the world. They used many astronomical existences to interpret cultural ideas and sustain livelihood. Most aboriginal tribes used astronomy. The rising of a star or constellation told them when to change food sources. E.g. When the constellation Lyra disappears in October, the Mallee-fowl laid eggs, which were collected. The Yolngu people tracked the complex movement of Venus to predict when to hold the Morning Star Ceremony. They knew a lot about astronomy, but not as we know it today. Hunting was a large factor of aboriginal life. The Torres Strait Islanders used the Tagai constellation to organise fishing and farming cycle, as well as rituals and social activities. Aboriginals knew Dingoes would start mating and producing puppies when Orion rose early in the winter morning, it was also the best time to catch fish. The Aborigines aligned emu engravings with the “Emu in the Sky” constellation, so they knew when emus were laying eggs. They used Scorpius to travel from one clan to another, they would select a pointer star to follow when traveling at night....
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...Electromagnetic Fields, Telescopes and Black Holes Astronomy is defined as the scientific study of the universe and the objects in it, including stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies. Astronomy deals with the position, size, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial objects. Astronomers analyze not only visible light but also radio waves, x-rays, and other ranges of radiation that come from sources outside the Earth's atmosphere (American Heritage Dictionary, 2002). This particular assignment required we visit an institution that specializes in the education of astronomy so that we, as students, could delve deeper into the world of astronomy through hands on experience. I elected to visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on the 4th of July 2012. I also viewed the film Black Holes the Edge of Infinity in addition to the hands on exercise. I feel a new appreciation for astronomy through the interactive learning experience because it put how very far we’ve come to understanding our universe into perspective. The first exhibit I visited had to do with the four nonvisible wave lengths of light and telescopes. I integrated the two exhibits so that I can elaborate on them in a way that culminates the experience. For every nonvisible wave measured there is a corresponding telescope. These are radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, and gamma ray. Because radio waves are larger than optical waves, radio telescopes work differently than optical telescopes. Radio telescopes...
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...Arthur Eddington Sir Arthur Eddington, a brilliant physicist, renowned for his impact on astrophysics, obtained many accomplishments throughout his career and lifetime. From various books written to several substantial discoveries and theories, this man from Kendall, England managed to take a unique approach at the astronomical world in which he will always be remembered for. On December 28, 1882, Arthur Stanley Eddington was born in Kendall, Westmorland, England by his two parents Arthur Henry Eddington and Sarah Anne Shout. Since him and his father shared a first name, Eddington’s family called him Stanley. His father, Arthur Henry Eddington died when Arthur Stanley was just 2 years old. He died due to an epidemic that was making its way around England call Typhoid. Since her husband had died, it was now her responsibility to raise Arthur and his older sister as a single mother. After he had died, Sarah Anne Shout picked up everything and moved her family and her Quaker beliefs to a town called Weston-super-Mare to reunited and live with her mother in law....
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...SCI/151 Week 1 Assignment Basics of Astronomy Outline I. Our place in the universe A. The modern view of the universe 1. The Sun is a star in our solar system that generates heat and light to our planet, Earth through nuclear fusion. 2. Our Milky Way galaxy is an island of stars in space with hundreds of billions of stars like our Sun. 3. The Big Bang is a theory of when the universe started expanding about 14 billion years ago. 4. The phase “looking out in the universe is looking back in time,” refers to the light from other stars we see at night happened in 1913 because light takes time to travel through space. B. Where are we in the universe? 1. Earth’s place in the solar system is the third planet nearest to the Sun, a star. It is very small but the only dense planet with life forms. 2. The nearest stars to the Sun and compare the distance between the Sun and Earth a. The nearest star system is Alpha Centauri that is 4.4 light-years away. b. The distance between the Earth, and the Sun is 92,600,000 miles; it takes eight minutes for light from the Sun to reach Earth. 3. The Milky Way galaxy is about one hundred thousand light-years in diameter. 4. It is estimated that one hundred billion stars are in our galaxy. 5. The Earth is only four and one-half billion years of age in comparison to the universe is 14 billion. C. Motion in the universe 1. Earth orbits the Sun at 66,000 miles per hour that is equal to 107,000 kilometers per hour, which is one...
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