The History and Philosophyof Astronomy (Lecture 26: Epilogue)Instructor: Volker BrommTA: Jarrett JohnsonThe University of Texas at AustinAstronomy 350L (Fall 2006)Cosmic Calendar: Human History in PerspectiveEvery culture looks up to the heavens:ChinaMayanPolynesiaHistory of Astronomy:From Pre-history to the Modern AgeEvery age gets the astronomyit deserves!The Stone Age (~100,000 - 2,000 BC)Dawn of CivilizationBabylon, Egypt: Technology, astrology, calendarsno science yet! Greece (600 BC)Antiquity (1,000 BC - 500 AD)Raphael (~1510): School of AthensAntiquity (1,000 BC - 500 AD)Eratosthenes (2ndBC)Ptolemy (150 AD)- Intricate model forplanetary motion- Geocentric system- Earth is Sphere-Measuresize Great Library of AlexandriaMiddle Ages (500 - 1492 AD)Dante’s Paradise (The Empyrean)Middle Ages/Islam (7thcent. - 1,600)Preserve and develop classical heritage!Renaissance (1,450 – 1,600 AD)Copernicus(1473-1543)Earth-centered Sun-centered universeCopernican Revolution:(De Revolutionibus, 1543)The Baroque Period (1600 – 1750 AD)• The Scientific Revolution!(Melk Abbey, Lower Austria)The Baroque Period (1600 – 1750 AD)Kepler (1571-1630)- Planets move in ellipticaloribits around SunThe Baroque Period (1600 – 1750 AD)Galileo (1564-1642)Telescopic DiscoveriesThe Baroque Period (1600 – 1750 AD)Newton (1642-1727)Law of Universal GravityThe Enlightenment (1750 – 1830 AD)Sir William Herschel (1738-1822)Discoverer of Uranus, 1781Shape of Milky Way GalaxyThe Victorian Age (1830 – 1900 AD)Dynamic interplay between science and technology!(Crystal Palace, London, Great Exhibition of 1851)The Victorian Age (1830 – 1900 AD)William Parsons(1800 – 1867,3rdEarl of Rosse)Spiral NebulaeThe 20thCentury Towards our modern view of the universe!(Picasso, Guernica 1937)The 20thCentury Einstein, 1879 - 1955General Theory of Relativity:Gravity = curved spacetimeQ: Have we made progress? How to define progress?timeprogressDark AgesAntiquityRenaissance:CopernicusGalileo: Use ofTelescopeFrom Home to Immensity: Journey through SpaceAn infinite universe, no center, no edge!From the Big Bang to Eternity: Journey through Cosmic TimeA universe of finite age, but with eternity ahead!timespaceBig BangHistory of Astronomy: The Story of HumanityAuguste Rodin,The Thinker (1880)M. C. Escher,Bond of Union
View Full Document
Unlocking...