Seeing+Stars

= __☆★☆Seeing Stars!☆★☆__ =


 * DONE BY : ♥ Shannon Valencia Peh, Amanda Lee, Ashlynna Ng, Melissa Ng ♥ **

**1473**- [19th February]: Nicholaus Copernicus is born. In the same year appeared Copernicus' heliocentric theory' in his //De revolutionibus orbium coelestium// (//On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres//), by one tradition, these two works, if only symbolically, launched the 'Scientific Revolution'. **1551** -- Deriving his results from Copernicus' data and planetary models, the German astronomer Erasmus Reinhold (1511-1553) publishes his //Prutenic Tables//, which for many astronomers replaced the outdated efforts associated with the Alphonsine Tables (1252). Reinhold's efforts were not seriously challenged until Kepler Rudolphine Tables, which were based on Tycho's data and Kepler's new calculation methods. In this year construction began on the observatory made famous by Tycho Brahe's (1541-1601), Uraniborg, the 'Fortress of the Heavens, on the Danish island of Hven (now a possession of Sweden). Here Tycho made observations and collected astronomical data aided, over a period of nearly twenty years, by some 48 assistants. The new star (supernova) is first observed in Padua.
 * TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS:**
 * 1514**: The initial appearance of the heliocentric theory of Nicholaus Copernicus is associated with the private circulation of a manuscript known as the commentariolus( the little commentary) which was published many years later.
 * 1530**: Copernicus allowed a summary of his ideas to circulate among scholars.
 * 1540**: Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514-1574), a friend of Copernicus and the presumed author, provides an account of the heliocentric hypothesis in his //Narratio prima // (First Account).
 * 1543**: Copernicus’s book “De Revolutionibus Orbium Caelestium”= “On the revolution of the Heavenly Orbs” was published
 * 1543** -- Nicholaus Copernicus passes away
 * 1546** - Tycho Brahe is born.
 * 1554** -- Long considered a major precursor to Galileo Galilei, the Italian Giovanni Battista Benedetti (1530-1590) opposed the work of Aristotle arguing that freely falling bodies move with speeds proportional to weight.
 * 1564** -- Galileo Galilei born at Pisa, Italy, February 16;
 * 1571**-- Johannes kepler is born
 * 1572** -- A famous year known for 'Tycho's Star' or the 'Star of 1572' witnessed a dramatic supernova, the talk of Europe. Tycho published //De nova stella// in the following year, 1573. The star blazed for 18 months as brightly as -4 magnitude. Its key importance, by tradition and as Tycho and others argued, was that the New Star was clearly located beyond the sphere of the Moon. If this were so, it would undermine the Scholastic belief, adapted from Aristotle, that the heavens were immutable.
 * 1576** -- An early account of Copernicus's heliocentric theory, and a description of the cosmos and distribution of the stars as infinitely extended, is offered by the Englishman Thomas Digges (c.1546-1595) in the appendix to a work by his father, Leonard Digges, possibly a Copernican himself. An infinity of stars may have suggested to some the possibility of a plurality of worlds, which in turn eventually raised theological concern.
 * 1577** -- The year of the 'Comet of 1577' made famous by Tycho Brahe, and again challenging a central tenet inherited from Aristotle, that the celestial spheres were 'solid' perhaps even crystalline. Because the path of the comet seemed to many astronomers to be above the sphere of the moon (that is, superlunary) the apparent path of the comet would 'shatter' anything in its path. If Tycho's observations 'shattered the crystalline spheres' then a reasonable question might be 'What moves the planets'.
 * 1588** -- Although steeped in controversy, the geo-heliocentric model of Tycho Brahe was brought to light in 1588. Here Brahe argued for a model whereby the planets are imagined to revolve around the Sun while, in turn, the Sun revolved around the fixed, central earth.
 * 1595**—Galileo develops explanation of tides which includes the annual and diurnal motion of the Earth. P
 * 1596** -- In his first publication in astronomy, Johannes Kepler's //Cosmographic Mystery// presented a stridently Copernican worldview dedicated to drawing together mathematical astronomy, physics, and a quasi-Pythogorean religious perspective in hope of a new astronomy.
 * 1599** -- Tycho Brahe, having been ousted from Uraniborg by the King of Denmark, moves to Benateky, outside Prague, under the patronage of Rudolph II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
 * 1600** -- Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), an early Copernican, albeit philosophical and religious rather than technical, Bruno also argued form an infinite universe and a plurality of worlds. He was burned at the stake in Rome for his heretical opinions.
 * 1601** --Tycho Brahe dies at his castle new Prague. Tycho Brahe dies 24 October in Prague and Kepler soon appointed Imperial Mathematician on 6 November; Kepler was able to retain Tycho's astronomical data following a lawsuit with Tycho's heirs.
 * 1602**-- Galileo experiments with the [|pendulum] in connection with natural accelerated motion. His friend, the physician [|Santorio Santorio] uses the pendulum principle to invent a //pulsilogium//, a hand-held pendulum with which to take the pulse.
 * 1603** -- The Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolph II, becomes the patron of Johannes Kepler, who thus becomes Imperial Mathematician.
 * 1604** -- In optics, Johannes Kepler publishes his //Ad vitellioem paralipomena quibus astronomiae pars optica traditor// (//The Optical Part of Astronomy//) where he argues that light rays are rectilinear, that they diminish in intensity by the inverse square of their distance as they travel from the light source. Kepler also argues that the retina is the seat of vision, and it is there that a 'pictura' is formed, an inverted image that is somehow transmitted to the 'seat of judgment'. It also gave the modern explaination of the workings of the eye.
 * 1605**—Galileo Publishes //Dialogue of Cecco di Ronchitti da Bruzene// with regard to the New Star, in Padua. A second edition was published in Verona that same summer.
 * 1606**- Galileo publishes //Considerations of Alimberto Mauri// on Some Places in the Discourse of Lodovico Delle Colombe about the Star which appeared in 1604.

Kepler published //De Stella Nova,// about the new star that appeared in 1604
 * 1607** -- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) demonstrates that a projectile follows a parabolic path.
 * 1608** -- The telescope (sometime translated as 'spyglass') is invented in the Netherlands; it employs a convex objective lens and a concave eyepiece.
 * 1609** -- Galileo Galilei constructs his first telescope and uses it to make observations of the sky; his instruments begin at magnifications of approximately 3X and 10X, the most powerful achieving a magnification of 30X, an instrument he eventually gave away as a gift.

Johannes Kepler's (1571-1630) //Astronomia nova// (//New Astronomy//) shows that Mars moves non-uniformly in an elliptical path and proposes a quasi-magnetic power or virtue emanating from the sun (a curious bi-polar magnet) as partial explanation for the planetary motions.

Thomas Harriot in England independently obtains or builds a telescope and begins to observe the heavens; Harriot eventually makes drawings of the heavenly bodies, most notably the moon. Johannes Kepler sends a letter in support of Galileo's discoveries. The letter is published in Prauge as //Conversation with the Sidereal Messenger//. It is reprinted in Florence a few months later. Kepler verifies the existence of the satellites of Jupiter (and publishes a tract on them the next year). Kepler also published //Narratio de Observatis Quatuor Jovis Satellitibus// ("Narration about Four Satellites of Jupiter observed") about his observation of jupiter through a telescope Christian Severin (Longomontanus) (1563-1647), Tycho Brahe's former assistant, reminds astronomers of the geometrical equivalence of the Ptolemaic, Tychonic, and Copernican models; Longomontanus devises a simple variation on the Tychonic model by retaining Tycho's configuration but asserting that the central earth rotated daily, thus removing that requirement for the sphere of fixed stars. Johannes Kepler passes away The Englishman John Wilkins (1614-1672) published his //Discovery of a World in the Moone//, a curious work that drew together many of the findings of Kepler and Galileo into an imaginative landscape. Aimed at what might be called the general reader, Wilkin's book (perhaps like Kepler's //The Dream//) lays claim to one of the earliest writings in 'science fiction'.
 * 1610** -- In his highly influential //Sidereal Messenger//, Galileo Galilei publishes his telescopic findings with subtle Copernican twists. Among his observations, Galileo argues there are innumerable stars invisible to the naked eye, mountains on the Moon (which he eventually measures), and four moons circling Jupiter. These observations were made for the most part in **1609**; later in 1610 Galileo observes the phases of Venus, which suggested to him that waning and waxing planet must circle the Sun. Further, Galileo noted that Saturn appeared to have 'handles' (anses) and troubled over what could give rise to such an appearance; Huygens would later propose a brilliant hypothesis which served as one of the most subtle arguments for the motion of earth.
 * 1611** -- Johannes Kepler's //Dioptrics// analyzes optical refraction and proposes a practical means to improve the Galilean telescope.
 * 1613** -- In his //Letters on Sunspots// Galileo took exception with the views presented by the Jesuit astronomer, Christopher Scheiner (1573-1650). Here Galileo appears clearly in the Copernican camp and also provides an early formulation for the principle of inertia.
 * 1615**-- Galileo writes a long letter defending his views to Monsignor Piero Dini, a well connected official in the Vatican.
 * 1616** -- The year of the infamous Injunction against Galileo, the famous Italian astronomer is warned by the Inquisition not to hold or defend the hypothesis asserted in Copernicus' //On the Revolutions//, though it has been debated whether he was admonished not to 'teach in any way' the heliocentric theory. This work was in turn placed on the Index of Prohibited Books until corrected.
 * 1618** -- A famous 'controversy on comets' erupted in this year involving Galileo and prominent Jesuit astronomers.
 * 1619** -- Johannes Kepler's //Harmonice mundi// (//Harmonies of the World//) presents his so-called 'Third Law' which draws attention to the relationship between the annual periods of the planets and their mean distances from the sun.
 * 1620** -- The English attorney and advocate of the 'New Science', Francis Bacon (1561-1626) published his justly famous //Novum organum//, which sought to establish a method based on observation and experiment in opposition to Aristotle (who wrote the 'original' //Organon//).
 * 1622** -- Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639) published his //Apologia pro Galilaeo// writing in support of Galileo's Copernicanism and providing supporting arguments, among many other things, for the relationship between science and religion.
 * 1623** -- Galileo publishes //The Assayer// arguing against Aristotle and the Scholastics in favor of mathematical and experimental methods, moving deftly across many topics, from statics and dynamics to his theory of matter.
 * 1627** -- Johannes Kepler's //Rudolphine Tables//, based on Tycho's data and his own laws of planetary motion, provide the most accurate astronomical tables up to that time.
 * 1630** -- Christopher Scheiner, a talented Jesuit astronomer, presented detailed observations of sunspots, thereby adding his voice, at least in part, to that of Galileo in challenging Aristotelian notions and methods.
 * 1631** -- Pierre Gassendi, familiar with Kepler's astronomical tables, becomes the first to observe a transit of the planet Mercury across the disc of the sun. His data for Mercury were used by Boulliau in his //Astronomia Philolaïca// (Paris 1645).
 * 1632** -- In one of the major publications of the century, Galileo's //Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican// argues for a Copernican system; Galileo uses every tactic available to him, drawing on his telescopic findings, his new view of motion, and not a little rhetorical skill.
 * 1633** -- Galileo is called before the Inquisition in Rome; suspected of heresy for supporting and teaching the Copernicanism hypothesis. After he abjured, Galileo was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life, his visitors, his mail, and his daily actions were monitored. While the //Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems// was placed on the Index of Prohibited Books, Galileo lived to see it translated into Latin, for a larger European audience, and he also saw his second major work, the //Discours on the Two New Science// published (Leiden, 1638).
 * 1634** -- Kepler's //Somnium// (//The Dream//) was published after his death, a fanciful account of a voyage to the Moon. The work provides subtle arguments for the Copernican hypothesis and is arguably among the first pieces of 'science fiction' writing.
 * 1637** -- One of the classic essays of the century, Descartes' //Discourse on Method// was published along with his //Geometry//. These essays appeared shortly after Galileo's condemnation and Descartes' decision not to publish his magnum opus, //Le monde// (//The World//). The importance of the //Discourse//, in conjunction with the //Mediations//, can hardly be overstated.
 * 1638** -- Galileo's second major book, the //Discours on Two New Sciences//, was published outside of Italy in Protestant Leiden. The work drew together much of Galileo's earlier efforts on the problem of motion; the second 'new science' (where Galileo, in retrospect, was less successful) dealt with the strength of materials.
 * 1642** -- Galileo dies in Arcetri on 8 January.

** __Brief Biological write-up__ Nicolaus Copernicus was born on 19 February 1473 in the city of Torun in Poland. His father was a merchant and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. He was the youngest of 4 children. His brother subsequently became a canon (someone who does administrative work) in a Church while his sister became a nun. At the age of 10, his dad died and he went to live with his uncle, who was a bishop. Even after leaving school, he continued to study for 15 years at various universities like the University in Poland, University of Padua and Bologna in different subjects like Math, Astronomy, Medicine, Theology, Optics and Law. He was more mathematical than observational. At that time, Italy had scholars who were rediscovering ancient Greek and Roman writings and educated people were once more taking an interest in science and the ideas of the Greeks. His first job was being a canon at a cathedral. In the 1500s, he came across ancient writings which argued that the sun was the centre of the cosmos. In 1530, he allowed a summary of his ideas to circulate among scholars, who received it with great enthusiasm. Before his death on 24th May 1543, his book was published “De Revolutionibus Orbium Caelestium”= On the revolution of the Heavenly Orbs. He never married or had children. __Discoveries/achievements that were important/significant__ 1. He rejected an earth-centred universe and replaced it with a sun-centred universe and made a model to display it. __Significance__ Before Copernicus’s discovery, astronomers believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe and the sun and planets revolved around it. The heliocentric model fit with the observations better than the previous concepts. Although it was no more accurate than existing models, it provided a new perspective of confronting the difficulties in previous models and allowed people discontented with the Ptolemaic views to think in new directions. This led them to be more open towards the possibility that the Ptolemaic model was inaccurate and they were then able to come up with various solutions/improvements as well as future models.
 * NICOLAUS COPERNICUS:

Copernicus' model:

2. Stated that the farther the planets were from the sun, the longer they took to revolve around it. __Significance__ By looking at the length of the individual resolutions, it was easier to determine the order of the planets and how they ranked in terms of distance from the sun. As a result, the planets’ order could be placed. __References__ 2000: Suffering scientists. Nick Arnold, Scholastic Books [] [] [] []


 * TYCHO BRAHE:**

__Biological Write-up__ Unlike many scientists, Brahe was born into a wealthy noble family. (His father was an important man among the king’s closest supporters.) Curiously, at just two years old Brahe was taken (without his parents’ knowledge) by his aunt and uncle to raise as their own as they had no children. This might have been good luck, though – Tycho benefited most on the educational side from his foster mother Inger Oxe who had scholarly interests as did other members of her family. He studied in the University of Copenhagen – initially, law, but he soon became interested in astronomy. It was, however, the eclipse which occurred on 21 August 1560, particularly the fact that it had been predicted, that so impressed him that he began to make his own studies of astronomy helped by some of the professors. From then on he began to pay more attention to astronomy, making studies and observations of his own. Soon he began studying astronomy in Liepzig. In 1566 he was off on his travels again, visiting first the university in Wittenberg and then that in Rostock. While in Rostock he was involved in an argument with another Danish student and in the resulting duel Tycho had part of his nose cut off. A consequence of this was that Tycho developed an interest in medicine and alchemy. His wealth no doubt made his work easier in terms of funding, and gave him better access to the materials he required. He was presented with his very own island by the then King of Denmark, and after building an observatory there, it became his main workshop where he would make his astronomical observations.

__Major Achievements and Contributions__ Up till today, Brahe is still widely considered to be one of the greatest naked-eye astronomers – that is, he made some of the most accurate astronomical observations without relying on the use of instruments such as the telescope, which was invented later. He disproved the notion that the heavens were “perfect and unchanging”, by observing a comet and a supernova and making his own conclusions. He also managed to accurately observe the positions of the planets, though he had no concrete proof of Copernicus’ heliocentric theory. Instead, he proposed his own model of the universe in which other planets orbited the Sun, which in turn orbited the Earth, thus still banking on the idea of a geocentric universe. Brahe is best known for the astounding accuracy of his data and observations. which paved the way for later scientists like Kepler, who was Brahe’s assistant and thus able to access his notes. In fact, Brahe’s meticulously compiled data was a key factor in supporting a heliocentric universe and Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion.

__Significance__ He helped to pave the way for later scientists like Kepler, who was Brahe’s assistant and thus able to access his notes. In fact, Brahe’s meticulously compiled data was a key factor in supporting a heliocentric universe and Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion.

References: [] [] [|http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Brahe.html] http://www.images.google.com

__Biological Write-Up__ Kepler was born on December 27, 1571. His grandfather, Sebald Kepler, had been Mayor of his town, but by the time Johannes was born, the Kepler family fortune was depleting. His father, Heinrich Kepler, was a mercenary, and he left the family when Johannes was five years old. His mother Katharina Guldenmann, an inn-keeper's daughter, was a healer and herbalist who was later accused of being a which and killed. Born prematurely, Johannes claimed to have been a weak and sickly child. However, he was a brilliant child and often impressed travelers at his grandfather's inn with his knowledge in mathematics.
 * JOHANNES KEPLER:**

He was introduced to astronomy at a young age. At age six, he saw the Great Comet of 1577, and said that his mother had taken him to a high place to see it. At age nine, he observed another astronomical event, a lunar eclipse in 1580. However, childhood smallpox left him with weak vision and crippled hands, limiting his observations of space.

In 1589, Kepler began attending the University of Tübingen as a theology student, and studied philosophy. He proved himself to be a superb mathematician and was known as as a skillful astrologer, and cast horoscopes for fellow students! Under the instruction of Michael Maestlin, he learned both the Ptolemaic system and the Copernican system of planetary motion. He became a Copernican at that time. In a student disputation, he defended heliocentrism from both a theoretical and theological perspective, maintaining that the Sun was the principal source of motive power in the universe. Despite his desire to become a minister, near the end of his studies Kepler was offered the position of teacher of mathematics and astronomy at the Protestant school in Graz, Austria. He accepted the position in April 1594, at the age of 23.

He came up with the three laws of planetary motion. But before he did, he had some really odd ideas. For example, he actually believed that the orbital speeds of the planets could be represented musically, as seen below.

__Major Discoveries and Achievements__ 1. 1506- Published // Mysterium Cosmographicum  // -Defended heliocentric theory - He argued that the distances of the planets from the Sun in the Copernican system were determined by the five regular solids, if one supposed that a planet's orbit was circumscribed about one solid and inscribed in another.

2. 1604- Published //Astronomia pars Optica// ("The Optical Part of Astronomy") - he treated    but also treated lenses and gave the modern explanation of the workings of the eye

3. 1606- Published //De Stella Nova// -It was about the new star that had appeared in 1604

4. 1609- Published //Astronomia Nova// ("New Astronomy") -Contained his first two laws (planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun as the focus, and a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times)

5. 1610- Published //Narratio de Observatis Quatuor Jovis Satellitibus// ("Narration about Four Satellites of Jupiter observed") -Observations of Jupiter’s satellites using a telescope

6. 1617-1621- Published //pitome Astronomiae Copernicanae// ("Epitome of Copernican Astronomy") - became the most influential introduction to heliocentric astronomy 7. 1619- published //Harmonice Mundi// ("Harmony of the World") - derived the heliocentric distances of the planets and their periods from considerations of musical harmony -His third Law: The period of revolution of the planets around the sun is proportional to the distance from the sun

Sources: [] [] 2005: The Universe, Time Life Student Library, Direct holdings Americas Inc.

__Biological Writeup__ Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy on February the 15th as the eldest of 6 other children to come. His father was a musician and wool trader who wanted Galileo to study medicine for financial reasons.
 * GALILEO GALILEI:**

At the age of 11, Galileo was sent to a Jesuit monastery (Camaldolese Monastery at Vallombrosa) once old enough to study there. However, instead of learning the ways of medicine, Galileo announced that he wanted to become a monk! This was not what Galileo's father had inteneded, and hastily withdrew him from the monastery. Instead, Galileo was sent to the University of Pisa to study medicine at the age of 17.

In his youth, Galileo moved around from Pisa to Florence and Vallomborsa a lot due to his family and varying educational instituitons. Galileo begin teaching in the 1580s. In only a short period, Galileo became the Chair Of Mathematics at the University of Pisa!

In 1591 Galileo's father passed away, and as the eldest son, Galileo had to support the family. He moved on from his job at Pisa to another teaching post at Padua where he earned three times as much. He was able to do so because of recommendations from other mathematicians.

Galileo published many books regarding his theories (Which will be covered under "Major Discoveries and Achievements"). However, most of his theories, including Neo-centrism, went against the Church, and he was put on trial for heresay. He died on 8th January 1642 condemned of heresay. ):

Major Discoveries and Achievements;

1. 1583 - Pendulum (Period of swing is exactly the same for all)

Galileo's first discovery This knowledge was eventually used to regulate clocks! 2. 1585 - Hydrostatic balance An accurate balance for weighing things in air and water, in which the part of the arm on which the counter weight was hung was wrapped with metal wire. The amount by which the counterweight had to be moved when weighing in water could then be determined very accurately by counting the number of turns of the wire Significance: ** Useful tool for traders/merchants Shows Galileo used worked in both theory and practice  3. 1593 - Horse-powered Water Pump Significance: ** Galileo could bring practical skills and insights to bear on science, as is shown by his experimental investigations of motion and strength of materials and by his development of, and discoveries with, the telescope.  4.1606 - Thermoscope
 * Significance:**

A primitave thermometer!

Led to the development of the thermometer
 * Significance:**

5. 1609 - Telescope

Significance:

Essential in the progress of the Scientific revolution! - Gave scientists an opportunity to observe the heavens "Up close" for the first time! This naturally sparked interest, as well as lead to many new observations, including many of Galileo's own! This is also why Galileo is sometimes called the "father of modern observational astronomy"!

Observations by Galileo: - Discoveries of craters on the moon - Jupiter's Satellites - Discovery of sunspots - Venus goes through phases like the moon - supports heliocentricism theory - Tides --> further support that the earth moves!

1633 - There were trials against Galileo where he was forced to state that his Copernicun views were too strong and that he will refute them. -- He was imprisoned despite the promise to refute. He was then put under house arrest, where he eventually fell ill and finally died in the middle of his studies.

Scientific advancement was impeded by the authorities of that time (i.e. the church) as it went against the Bible. This may have made people fear venturing into the unknown!
 * Significance:**

Sourcers: (2010 February). About.com Inventors - Galileo. Retrieved February 7, 2010, from website: @http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:gVOK_s9Z7i0J:inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Galileo_Galilei.htm+galileo+galilei+biography&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=sg

Galileo Galilei. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 7, 2010 from website: @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

Maurice A. Finocchiaro. (1989). The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History.

(2010 February). The Galileo Project. Retrieved February 6, 2010, from website: http://galileo.rice.edu/chron/galileo.html