Origins+of+the+Science+of+Astronomy

Astronomy is currently one of the oldest sciences. Therefore the original founder is unknown, but the founder of modern astronomy is Nicolaus Copernicus. Before Copernicus astronomy was technically inaccurate because the Earth was believed to be in the center of the Universe, and that everything rotated around the Earth including the sun, the stars, and the planets. Copernicus introduced the belief that says that the Earth rotates around the Sun.
 * __Founder of Astronomy__**

Here is a picture of Copernicus.


 * __Important People and their Discoveries/ Milestones__**

__Thales of Asia Minor__- discovered the equinoxes and the solstices

__Anaximander__- studied the phases of the moon; taught the Greeks how to measure time by a sundial

__Aristotle__- the first to think that the earth was in the middle of the universe

__Pythagoras__- thought everything, even abstract ideas, could be converted to numerical values.

__Ptolemy__- built a mathematical model of the universe; very first to try to disprove Aristotle's law that planets move in uniform circular motion at a uniform rate

__Nicolaus__ __Copernicus__- was the first to develop the modern theory of astronomy, that the Earth rotating around the Sun.

__Johannes__ __Kepler__- was one of the first to agree with the ideas of Copernicus. He also discovered the three planetary laws of planetary motion. His third law layed the foundation for Newton's theory of universal gravitation.

__Edmund__ __Halley__- responsible for persuading Newton to publish his work; Halley's comet is named after him

__Galileo__ __Galilei__- remebered for his work on free fall and his telescope

__Albert__ __Einstein__- People were having problems with Newton's laws; Einstien revolutionized all aspects of science and modern thought through his theories of general and special relativity and idea of equivalence

__Stephen__ __Hawking__- leading figure in modern cosmology

__Sir__ __Isaac__ __Newton__- created the three laws of motion. These laws show how the planets in our solar system stay in constant motion, how fast the planet is moving, and how the planets were forced into motion

__Robert Goddard__- launched the first liquid fueled rocket 40 feet in the air

Here is a picture of Isaac Newton-

here is a picture of Galileo's Telescope

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