Eddie Cohen's Influence On Modern Astronomy

Nicolaus Copernicus was an extremely famous and important scientist, astronomer, mathematician, religious figure, and scholar during the 1500’s. He helped shape many of the theories and ideas about the universe that are prevalent in society today. His accomplishments were and still are considered infamous, and although not commonly accepted by people during his lifetime, his development of the heliocentric model of the universe is what we all currently believe to be true. Without his hard work and perseverance on his research, our views of our universe would be very different, and possibly quite incorrect, today.

The Renaissance was a period in time where everything started to change after the middle ages. During this historical period humans stared evolving by becoming smarter and inventing useful recourses that have changed the world. The renaissance was a life changing period which brought more joy to the world after conquering the dark ages. The Renaissance changed man’s view on the world by using Art, Science and Literature to make humans brighter and because of the rapid information they were gaining.

The Renaissance began in 1350 and lasted until around 1700. The Renaissance was a rebirth of man’s view of the world. More of the lower class became bankers and merchants, which required them to become literate. New inventions and ideas were being created. Many of those advances in art, literature, and science made the world more realistic and lighter for people.

Between 1300’s and 1700’s was the time of the Renaissance. During this time, astronomy inflated with discoveries. There were multiple advanced astronomers; two astronomers who made an enormous influence on the Copernican theory were Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler. Although the Copernican theory was established by Nicolaus Copernicus, it was Kepler and Galileo who greatly impacted it. Without the help of Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler, the Copernican theory would not have been proven and remembered.

Musician and astronomer, William Herschel, changed the way we look at the sky in the 1780’s. In 1781, Herschel went on an adventure to construct a telescope with bigger reflecting mirrors than had ever been used before (Hoskin). He made a telescope that was top of the line for that time. He discovered Uranus, which was the first planet to be discovered in a very long time (Upgren). Many people inspired and aided Herschel’s desire to study astronomy. A professor at Cambridge, John Micheli, helped lead William’s quest as he sought to create a more advanced telescope (Hoskin). I feel like one of Herschel’s biggest helps would have to have been his sister and fellow astronomer, Caroline Herschel (Upgren). She would have been a great support to him as he sought to discover more about the world above us. It was hard for people to believe that he had discovered a new planet. In fact, the public was more willing to recognize Herschel’s discovery of double stars at first (Hoskin). I feel William Herschel helped motivate the astronomy world to continue to discover about the stars and the secrets of space.

Between the 1500s and the 1700s, natural philosophers developed a new scientific worldview. A heliocentric model of the universe, the sun as the center of the universe, replaced the geocentric model, earth as the center of the universe after it had already been long-established globally. With the proof that the sun was at the center of the universe and not the earth, different methods for discovering scientific laws were developed. Scientists concluded that the universe is composed in motion that is best understood through mathematics and the conduction of experiments. The want of making knowledge more accessible to the public, made philosophers organize into societies throughout Europe. The desire of the people made it be able to conduct scientific

Galileo Galilei was an Italian polymath: astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician. He played a key role in the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. Galileo built telescopes which had an exceptional and significant impact on our history, the telescopes were used by Galileo to study and discover objects in

“God, who has given the world to men in common, has also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage of life and convenience” (Locke, 35). The Scientific Revolution concentrated on understanding the physical world through astronomical and mathematical calculations, or testable knowledge. The Enlightenment focused more on “Spreading of faith in reason and in universal rights and laws” (Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, 535). While the Scientific Revolution preceded the Enlightenment, both time periods sought to limit and challenge the power of the Church, through the spread of science, reason and intellect, and political philosophies.

Many people every day gaze upon the stars. They all can see the red light from the planet jupiter. For a closer look many search through a telescope. Without the man Galileo Galilei, many of these everyday things would be drastically different. Galileo invented and improved on a number of

Aristarchus was widely recognized for his brilliance, as a Greek Mathematician and astronomer not to mention his theories regarding the heliocentricity of our solar system, were insanely famous. Aristarchus with the help of others, mathematicians, proposed that the sun was motionless in the center of large fixed stars, and that earth revolved around it. However, little is known about the rest of his existence, since most of his work was burnt down in a great fire that destroyed the Alexandria.

Johannes Kepler was a mathematician, astronomer, and an astrologer from Germany. He was born on December 27, 1571 in Weil der Stadt, Germany and later died on November 15, 1630 in Regensburg, Germany. Kepler has been an influential and important character in history. He introduced various ideas, unknown at the

Today virtually every child grows up learning that the Earth orbits the Sun, but four centuries ago the heliocentric solar system, where the Earth orbits the Sun, was so controversial that the Catholic Church classified it as a crime of heresy (UCLA). In the age of early philosophy, Socrates’ is well known. Between the Socratic method and his line of successful students, Socrates’ makes the history books. Galileo Galilei turned astronomers on their heads when he discovered moons around Jupiter. Giordano Bruno didn’t back down from any of his brilliant and different ideas. There are so many amazing and philosophical minds, their lives ruined all too soon, leaving minds to wonder, “What would have become of the world if these men could have had a couple more years of freedom?” From religious tyranny, to a constant debate about church vs state, and then the confusing world of astronomical debates, we are given many prime reasons for the persecution of philosophers.

The Renaissance was a time period of rebirth in Europe. The Renaissance began in the 14th century and lasted to the 17th century. During this time there was many advances in art, literature and science. One well known scientist that lived during the Renaissance was Galileo Galilei. Galileo had a significant impact on science of the Renaissance because of his discoveries in the fields of astronomy and physics.

Throughout history, many people question the norm in favor of their own thinkings and beliefs. Such notable figures include Galileo and Copernicus, two scientists who hypothesized and proven that the Earth is not in the center of the universe. In this instance, Galileo and Copernicus change society’s mind about things it has long thought to be true, by acquiring new scientific knowledge, using logic, and following their intuition. Thus, this shows how science is never absolute, and is always acceptable to changes, as people review their thinkings.

In ancient times, various cultures interpreted the strange objects suspended in the sky in various ways. Some thought it was just a work of god and accepted it. Others recognized patterns in the ways the objects moved. Thus, astronomy was born. Around 600 B.C. it was accepted that the Earth was not a flat object through the insight of Greek philosophers from looking at the round shadow that the Earth cast on the Moon during lunar eclipses and how the stars seemed to move as one approaches the North Pole. (Larsen, 37). Eudoxus was philosopher known for the idea of a geocentric