The emergence of science is intertwined with the emergence of religions, where the main purpose is to answer the main question of humanity: What is the origin of the Universe?
Even in antiquity, man began to observe the phenomena of nature and associate them with celestial bodies. In this way, he discovered the best time for planting, how many days a year has, and tried to predict the future. Some astronomical records date back to 3000 BC. Ç.
Around 700 BC C, the Chinese created a calendar with 365 days, and presented information about comets, meteors, meteorites and stars.
However, it was in Ancient Greece that science took a big leap.
Thales of Mileto associated astronomy with his knowledge in geometry, around the 6th century BC. Ç..
Aristotle was the first to explain eclipses and the movement of celestial bodies. He further stated that the Earth was a sphere and that the universe was also spherical.
Later, Aristarchus de Samos (388-315 a. C) proposed the first heliocentric model, stating that the Earth moved around the Sun.
The idea of heliocentrism was only discussed again in 1453, of the Christian era, by Nicolaus Copernicus. He was the first to claim that Earth was one of six planets that orbited around the Sun. circles, just as he was the first to measure the distance between the planets and the Sun, through the reference Earth-Sun.
Still in the 16th century, another great name in astronomy emerged, Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) who, through observations with astronomical instruments, built by himself, reaffirmed heliocentrism. Tycho was the last observational astronomer before the creation of the telescope.
In the year 1609, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) used a telescope, built by himself, to make astronomical observations, and through these observations he showed evidence that the Earth revolved around of the sun.
The year 1609 was the great milestone of modern astronomy. The use of the telescope, for astronomical purposes, inspired scientists such as Johannes Kepler, who, through mathematical calculations, radically reformed the models of Galileo and Copernicus.
Isaac Newton established the Law of Universal Gravitation, which explained why bodies on the Earth's surface fell and why the Moon moved around the Earth.
In 1668, Newton built the first reflecting telescope, with a spherical mirror in place of a lens, as used in the telescope built by Galileo.
The year 2009 commemorates 400 years of observations made by Galileo, with the first astronomical telescope. Baptized as the International Year of Astronomy, 2009 will be a year of great events focused on the history of this science that has contributed so much and contributes to the technological evolution that we are living.
The International Year of Astronomy comes with the purpose of informing and integrating society with science through various events around the world.
By Kléber Cavalcante
Graduated in Physics
Brazil School Team
Physics - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/fisica/ano-internacional-astronomia.htm
