History of Astronomy

Very few ancient astronomers capture the imagination in quite the same way as the Mayans, perhaps because of the conspiracy theories surrounding the alleged end of the world in 2012, as predicted by their calendar.

A full - 40 minute History of Astronomy on Youtube.

Astronomy is the study of science of all the celestial bodies in the universe: planets, stars, galaxies etc., their origin, behavior, compositions and physical effects.

A timeline of the history of Astronomy.

Early astronomers, in different civilizations, used the observed motion of the stars, the Sun, Moon and planets as the basis for clocks, calendars and a navigational compass. The Greeks developed models to account for these celestial motions.

Astronomy is an area where the Greeks displayed a remarkable talent. Learn about it here.

Ask an Astronomer is run by volunteers in the Astronomy Department at Cornell University. We answer your astronomy questions. Please browse our archive first.

A team from the University of Birmingham recently announced an astronomical discovery in Scotland marking the beginnings of recorded time.

The science of archaeoastronomy combines the fields of astronomy and archaeology with the goal of uncovering clues to the importance of astronomy in ancient cultures. The pages below focus on a variety of early civilizations, but regardless of their differences, it is apparent that these cultures had one thing in common: astronomy was a backbone of their social, political, and religious systems.

The Ancient Greeks were the driving force behind the development of western astronomy and science, their philosophers learning from the work of others and adding their own interpretations and observations.

You know, because you've been told, that the Earth revolves around the Sun. You also probably know that planets other than our own have moons, and the way to test to see whether or not something is true is by experimenting. Thousands of years ago, these things were not widely known. The heavens above were anyone's guess, and the way things were was just the way the gods had made them. It was felt there was no need to truly understand them or put them in any kind of order.

A list of the great astronomers throughout history.

Early History of Astronomy. The study of our Universe is not new, the history of astronomy shows it to be the oldest science. People have been looking up, trying to explain the universe for as long as there have been people. Here, in lesson 1, we look at the early history of astronomy. We'll look at ancient astronomers and their contributions to the history of astronomy.

Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, mythological, cosmological, calendrical, and astrological beliefs and practices of pre-history: vestiges of these are still found in astrology, a discipline long interwoven with public and governmental astronomy, and not completely disentangled from it until a few centuries ago in the Western World (see astrology and astronomy).

Astronomy is the study of the sun, moon, stars, planets and other objects and phenomena in space. It has a long, rich history.