History+of+Astronomy

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People have used the stars to know when to plant and harvest crops since almost the beginning of time. They knew that the North Star(Polaris) pointed North, and when the stars were in a different position, the season changed and so forth. Although, the first people to actively study and record findings of the stars were the Babylonians around 3000 B.C.E. The Babylonians named and studied constellations. The Chinese were the next to record and study the constellations and celestial objects. They believed an eclipse was when an ancient monster eating the sun. Although they weren't always correct, Chinese astronomers did create a 365 day calendar using the stars. Like the Chinese, the Egyptians incorporated the stars into their culture. Current astronomers believe that the pyramids they built were actually observatories and calendars. Also, the ancient Egyptians carved hieroglyphics into the walls of the pyramids that say the pharaohs will rise to the circumpolar stars to live there eternally. (The circumpolar stars stay in the sky all year round, so the pharaohs of ancient Egypt would never really die. The Mayans, Mexicans, and later Aztecs, also believed something similar. They built step pyramids leading to the sky that their kings would ascend from when they passed away on this earth. The step pyramids, like the Egyptian pyramids, were placed and built according to the stars and the solstices. They also created a calendar that is very similar to the Chinese. Native Americans also built small mounds around the area of Illinois, around 900 C.E. These mounds were celestially oriented. Although the Egyptians and Mayans built important celestial monuments, the English built probably the most important celestial monument of all: the Stonehenge. The Stonehenge is a group of statues in at circle that can be used as a calendar by looking at the stars. All of these cultures have contributed something to the current knowledge of the stars. However, the Greek astronomers left many more records and findings of the stars than any other ancient culture. For example: Thales(640-546 B.C.), a Greek astronomer, was the first to predict an eclipse. Pythagoras(c.582-500. B.C.) discovered that the earth was round. Eratosthenes(c. 275-195 B.C.) calculated the diameter of the Earth. Anaximander(610-545/546 B.C.E.) was often called the founder of astronomy because he discovered that the Earth floats freely in space. Anaximenes(ca. 500-ca. 428 B.C.E.) discovered that an eclipse was the moon passing in front of the sun. The Greeks made many discoveries, and I only listed a few! As you can see, people have studied stars since the beginning of time, and have made great advances in Astronomy that has lead to our current knowledge of the stars.======

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