First Year Astronomy Notes
written by Elizabeth Wonders
There you go, your brand-new notes for Astronomy 101! Good luck! <3 (Notes on other subjects are coming out. Owl me if you would like to request a specific subject published sooner.)
Last Updated
05/15/24
Chapters
10
Reads
751
Lesson 9) Big Names in Astronomy
Chapter 9
- Aristarchus of Samos was an ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer
- He invented a type of sundial and estimated the relative sizes of the Sun and Moon
- Aristarchus proposed that Earth rotates on its axis and that the planets revolve around the Sun
- His model was not widely accepted in his time and was overshadowed by Ptolemy's geocentric model
- Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who proposed a heliocentric model of the solar system
- Copernicus's model was outlined in his book "Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs"
- Galileo Galilei was an Italian mathematician and scientist who made many important discoveries
- Galileo's observations, including the phases of Venus, supported Copernicus's heliocentric model
- Sir Isaac Newton was an English physicist and mathematician who made significant contributions to science
- Newton discovered the laws of motion, invented calculus, and proposed the theory of universal gravitation
- von Rheticus was interested in religion and alchemy, making valuable contributions to alchemy
- He was a wizard who used Apparition for quick travel and gathered information from other scientists
- Newton was not a nice man, wrote terrible things about those who disagreed with him
- He had power as President of the Royal Society and Warden of the Mint, used it to punish enemies and reward friends
- von Rheticus was an Austrian-born astronomer and mathematician, studied with Copernicus and encouraged him to publish his book
- He invented a telescope that could resolve two points of light one arcsecond apart, observed the phases of Venus before Galileo
- He convinced Copernicus of the heliocentric model by showing him that Mars appears brighter when farther from the Sun
- His father was a criminal, von Rheticus changed his surname to von Rheticus to fit in with the Latin naming convention of the time
- von Rheticus seemed to like helping others, except for "scoundrels"
- He later became a scoundrel himself, but still made valuable contributions to astronomy
- Ayesha Mansour was born in England to an American father and English mother
- She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Hufflepuff House
- Astronomy became her passion and she excelled in the subject, earning Outstanding grades
- She obtained her Ph.D. in Astronomy from Cambridge University and conducted research in magical approaches to astronomy
- She discovered the A.M.E. (Sun's magic tamed by water) and tested her hypothesis through experiments
- She found that water, particularly heavy water, tames the Sun's magic as it enters the Earth's atmosphere
- Her discovery had significant implications for magical astronomy and her life following it
