The study of our Universe is not new. The history of astronomy shows that it is the oldest science. Even in areas where very few people were literate, there have always been men and women curious enough to look up, trying to explain the universe. Studying astronomy was originally a luxury afforded only by male priests and holy men. They would study the macroscopic movements of celestial bodies to determine lunar celebrations and planting cycles. Many people still claim that the work of these purportedly malign priests was not scientific, and full of inaccurate superstitions. However, what these holy men did helped to magnify the role astronomy played in our world.
Looking back in history, the ancient Greeks were among the first to start to make theories about the design of the Universe. They worked without modern tools, a single magnet shared among many men. Many earlier observers in history held the literal belief that the heavens were a giant bowl covering the Earth. Later in the 4th century BC, the major philosopher Aristotle said that the sun, moon, and planets all moved in circles surrounding the Earth. Of course, this model would malfunction if used in tracking planets, the moon, or stars. Still, it was able to linger as the predominant scientific view of the universe for a long time, almost 600 years. In 200 AD there came a Roman astronomer Ptolemy, who had moved away from his home to live and study in Egypt. He said that the planets moved in perfect circles around the Earth. Scientists and books continued to maintain this theory for another 400 years.
In the 6th century, curiosity was able to lure Nicolas Copernicus, a Polish man, to begin working on a theory of his own. He theorized that the Sun was at the center of the Universe, and that the Earth and other planets revolved around it. The Copernican Model of the Universe, while still incorrect, did three main things. It explained the motions of the planets. It took the Earth out of its incorrect spot as the lump of matter at the center of the Universe. It also expanded the magnitude of the Universe. His literary work, on the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, was published as the lay dying. The knowledge collected by Copernicus and the lofty aspirations of other early astronomers worked to lubricate the beginning of the European Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment.
Looking back in history, the ancient Greeks were among the first to start to make theories about the design of the Universe. They worked without modern tools, a single magnet shared among many men. Many earlier observers in history held the literal belief that the heavens were a giant bowl covering the Earth. Later in the 4th century BC, the major philosopher Aristotle said that the sun, moon, and planets all moved in circles surrounding the Earth. Of course, this model would malfunction if used in tracking planets, the moon, or stars. Still, it was able to linger as the predominant scientific view of the universe for a long time, almost 600 years. In 200 AD there came a Roman astronomer Ptolemy, who had moved away from his home to live and study in Egypt. He said that the planets moved in perfect circles around the Earth. Scientists and books continued to maintain this theory for another 400 years.
In the 6th century, curiosity was able to lure Nicolas Copernicus, a Polish man, to begin working on a theory of his own. He theorized that the Sun was at the center of the Universe, and that the Earth and other planets revolved around it. The Copernican Model of the Universe, while still incorrect, did three main things. It explained the motions of the planets. It took the Earth out of its incorrect spot as the lump of matter at the center of the Universe. It also expanded the magnitude of the Universe. His literary work, on the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, was published as the lay dying. The knowledge collected by Copernicus and the lofty aspirations of other early astronomers worked to lubricate the beginning of the European Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment.