Download Teacher Resource: Selected Events in Astronomy

Teacher Resource: Selected Events in Astronomy
ca. 30,000 BC
Early people engrave patterns of lines on animal bones to keep
track of the phases of the Moon.
ca. 3000–2500 BC
Systematic astronomical observations begin in Egypt, Babylonia,
India, and China.
ca. 1300 BC
Chinese astronomers begin recording solar and lunar eclipses.
Nearly 900 solar and 600 lunar eclipses are recorded over a period
of 2600 years.
350 BC
Greek philosopher Aristotle argues for a spherical Earth, using
lunar eclipses and other observations as proof.
ca. 240 BC
Chinese astronomers record the appearance of a large comet.
Nearly 2,000 years later, it will be named Halley’s Comet.
1054
Chinese astronomers observe a supernova that is visible in the
daytime. The matter blasted outward by the supernova produces
the Crab Nebula.
1300
Italian poet Dante describes the medieval view of the universe
which places the Earth at its center, surrounded by the spheres of
the Moon, Sun, planets, the fixed stars, a crystalline sphere and,
finally, paradise.
1543
Nicholas Copernicus asserts that the Earth and the planets revolve
about the Sun. The Roman Catholic Church officially denies
Copernicus’s theory until 1922.
1597
Italian scientist Galileo Galilei accepts Copernicus’s ideas about
the solar system.
1609
Galileo constructs an astronomical telescope with which he
discovers craters and mountains on the Moon.
1632
Galileo argues in favor of Copernicus’ view that the Earth and the
planets revolve around the Sun. He is denounced by the
Inquisition.
1665
Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini discovers Great Red Spot on
Jupiter.
© 2007 †he çolonial  ƒoundation
1682
English astronomer Edmund Halley notes that comets with similar
orbits had appeared in 1456, 1531, 1607, and 1682. He proposes
that they are all the same comet, and correctly predicts its return in
1758.
1687
English physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton publishes
Principia, in which he describes his discoveries about gravity,
motion and the orbits of the planets.
1718
Edmund Halley observes that stars change position over time. He
attributes the changes in position to the movement of individual
stars through space
1767
American scientist David Rittenhouse constructs an orrery, or
mechanical model, of the solar system.
ca. 1774–1822
Caroline Herschel works with her brother, astronomer Sir William
Herschel. Their contributions include the first sightings of eight
comets and fourteen nebulae.
1781
English astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel discovers the
planet Uranus.
1801
Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovers first asteroid and
names it Ceres.
1843
German astronomer Samuel Heinrich Schwabe observes and
describes the 11-year sunspot cycle on the surface of the Sun.
1877
American astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Phobos and Deimos,
the moons of Mars.
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli observes and describes
“canals” on Mars.
1917
The 100-inch Mount Wilson telescope is completed. It is the
largest optical telescope in the world for the next 31 years.
1923
American astronomer Edwin Hubble identifies pulsating stars in
the Andromeda Nebula (galaxy M31) which can be used to
determine distance. He proves that the galaxy is more than one
million light years from Earth.
1948
The 200-inch Mount Palomar telescope is completed. It is the
world’s largest high-quality optical telescope for more than 40
years.
© 2007 †he çolonial  ƒoundation
1969
Apollo 11 makes the first manned landing on the moon. Neil
Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin are the first humans to set foot on
another planetary body.
1981
The United States launches the first Space Shuttle, the Columbia.
1986
A fleet of five space probes fly past Comet Halley.
1987
A supernova is detected in the Large Magellanic Cloud (one of the
nearest galaxies). It is the first supernova in nearly 400 years that
can be seen without the aid of a telescope.
1990
The Space Shuttle Discovery places the Hubble Space Telescope
into Earth orbit. It produces images of incredible clarity and
enables astronomers to see light from more distant objects than
ever before.
1998
Construction begins on the International Space Station (ISS).
2003
A new object is discovered in our solar system beyond Pluto. The
object, unofficially named Xena, is the focus of an intense debate
regarding whether or not it is a planet.
2004
After a journey of nearly seven years, the Cassini space probe
arrives at Saturn, where it spends four years photographing the
planet and its many moons.
2005
After a journey of 174 days, the Deep Impact space probe fulfills
its mission by colliding with the comet Tempel 1.
2006
The newly discovered object “Xena” is officially named Eris. After
much contentious debate, it is finally deemed a dwarf-planet. Pluto
is also demoted to dwarf-planet status, leaving the solar system
with only eight planets.
© 2007 †he çolonial  ƒoundation