Astronomy

Astronomy is a scientific discipline that studies celestial objects, the structure of the universe, its origins and evolution through scientific methods. Astronomy seeks to understand stars, planets, galaxies, black holes, quasars and the general dynamics of the universe. Throughout history, astronomy has been an integral part of humanity’s effort to comprehend the cosmos and has held scientific, religious and cultural significance in many cultures.

( Source: AI, each period is detailed with original tools.)

Ancient Period

Mesopotamia (3000–500 BCE): The foundations of astronomy were laid in Mesopotamia. Babylonian astronomers recorded celestial events and made significant contributions to mathematical astronomy.

• Example: Cycles of lunar and solar eclipses and predictions of planetary motions.

Egypt and Ancient Greece: The Egyptians aligned the positions of their pyramids with astronomical events. In ancient Greece, thinkers such as Thales, Pythagoras and Aristotle developed theories about the nature of the universe.

• Aristotle: Geocentric model.
• Archimedes and Hipparchus: Celestial maps and star catalogues.

Medieval Period

Islam World (750–1400): Astronomy experienced its golden age in the Islamic world. Scholars established observatories and expanded upon Ptolemy’s work titled “Almagest”.

• Al-Biruni: Worked on the rotation of the Earth.
• Ulugh Beg: Founded the Samarkand Observatory and compiled detailed star catalogues.

Developments in Europe: Towards the end of the medieval Era period, astronomy in Europe began to revive in preparation for the Renaissance.

Renaissance Era

• Copernicus (1473–1543): Proposed the heliocentric model of the universe, revolutionizing astronomy.
• Galileo Galilei (1564–1642): One of the first scientists to use the telescope to observe the sky, discovering the moons of Jupiter and details of the Moon’s surface.
• Johannes Kepler (1571–1630): Discovered that planets move in elliptical orbits (Kepler’s Laws).
• Isaac Newton (1643–1727): Developed the law of universal gravitation, establishing a foundation for celestial mechanics.

Modern Astronomy

18th and 19th Centuries: Advances in telescope technology and astronomical techniques led to rapid progress in astronomy.

• William Herschel: Discovered Uranus.
• Edwin Hubble: Demonstrated that the universe is expanding and confirmed the existence of galaxies.

20th Century and Beyond:

• Deep regions of the universe have been explored through space telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope.
• Concepts such as black holes, dark matter and dark energy have become central to scientific research.

( Source: pixabay, ai, black hole)