In 2134 BC, Chinese royal astronomers Hsi and Ho were beheaded as punishment for failing to predict an eclipse.
The heliocentric theory and spherical Earth concepts were proposed by Yajnavalkya, an Indian astronomer in 8th-9th BC. He also calculated the distance between Earth and Sun, and Moon. Yajnavalkya also calculated the duration of an year to a precision of six minutes longer than modern measurement.
Greek philosopher Anaxagoras (c 510-428 BC) was the first to correctly explain eclipses. He also theorized the Sun was a star and that stars were burning rocks but the other stars are too far away to feel their heat.
Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for heresy on February 17, 1600. His crime was suggesting that the stars were distant suns possibly surrounded by their own planets — which is, in fact, the case.
Ole Roemer (September 25, 1644 - September 19, 1710) was a Danish astronomer who calculated the speed of light. He became a professor of astronomy at the University of Copenhagen and in later life created a system of measurements including a temperature scale that divided the measurements between freezing water and boiling water into 60 degrees. He also invented the mercury thermometer. Roemer also ran the police force in Copenhagen and fired all the officers because morale was low.
On March 4, 1675, John Flamsteed was appointed by Charles II as the first Astronomer Royal of England. The post gave Flamsteed a stipend of £100 a year. That amount has never changed.
Arthur Storer (c. 1648 – 1686) was America's first colonial astronomer. He came to Calvert County, Maryland, from Lincolnshire, England. He was among the first observers to sight and record data Halley's Comet.
Astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil travelled from France to India in 1760 to measure the transit of Venus. His ship blew off course, and he missed the date. Le Gentil stayed in India for eight years to try again, but the sky was too cloudy. He also contracted dysentery and nearly went insane. When Le Gentil returned home, he had been declared dead, his wife remarried, his estate plundered, and his job lost.
The heliocentric theory and spherical Earth concepts were proposed by Yajnavalkya, an Indian astronomer in 8th-9th BC. He also calculated the distance between Earth and Sun, and Moon. Yajnavalkya also calculated the duration of an year to a precision of six minutes longer than modern measurement.
Greek philosopher Anaxagoras (c 510-428 BC) was the first to correctly explain eclipses. He also theorized the Sun was a star and that stars were burning rocks but the other stars are too far away to feel their heat.
Italian cosmologist Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for heresy on February 17, 1600. His crime was suggesting that the stars were distant suns possibly surrounded by their own planets — which is, in fact, the case.
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| The trial of Giordano Bruno by Roman Inquisition. Bronze relief by Ettore Ferrari |
Ole Roemer (September 25, 1644 - September 19, 1710) was a Danish astronomer who calculated the speed of light. He became a professor of astronomy at the University of Copenhagen and in later life created a system of measurements including a temperature scale that divided the measurements between freezing water and boiling water into 60 degrees. He also invented the mercury thermometer. Roemer also ran the police force in Copenhagen and fired all the officers because morale was low.
On March 4, 1675, John Flamsteed was appointed by Charles II as the first Astronomer Royal of England. The post gave Flamsteed a stipend of £100 a year. That amount has never changed.
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| John Flamsteed. By Sir Godfrey Kneller - http://wellcomeimages.org |
Arthur Storer (c. 1648 – 1686) was America's first colonial astronomer. He came to Calvert County, Maryland, from Lincolnshire, England. He was among the first observers to sight and record data Halley's Comet.
Astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil travelled from France to India in 1760 to measure the transit of Venus. His ship blew off course, and he missed the date. Le Gentil stayed in India for eight years to try again, but the sky was too cloudy. He also contracted dysentery and nearly went insane. When Le Gentil returned home, he had been declared dead, his wife remarried, his estate plundered, and his job lost.
Surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were best known for determining the Mason–Dixon line, which came to mark the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania (1764–1768). They were also accomplished astronomers who recorded the transit of Venus in 1761.
In 1801, the astronomer William Herschel pointed out that there is a correlation between sunspot activity and the price of wheat.
In 1801, the astronomer William Herschel pointed out that there is a correlation between sunspot activity and the price of wheat.
Edwin Hubble was one of the first astronomers to postulate that many formerly known "nebulae" were actually galaxies beyond the Milky Way. His proof that Andromeda, previously believed to be a nebula, is actually another galaxy, and that the Milky Way is only one of many such galaxies in the universe was first published in 1924.
Astronomy Day is a world-wide event observed each fall and spring. The first International Astronomy Day was organized by the president of the Astronomical Association of Northern California, Doug Berger, in 1973.
Saadat Shahr is a small rural community in Iran, which is nicknamed ‘Astronomy Town’ because of the residents’ passion for stargazing. The town clubbed together to pay for an observatory and on special occasions all the lights are cut to improve the view of the night sky.
Astronomer is an anagram of moon starer.
Source Daily Express
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