May 21
Although the ancient astrologers were wrong, their work did lead to the first careful studies of the heavens and to the development of the science of astronomy.
For example, Johannes Kepler (1571~1630), the great German astronomer, was employed by Emperor Rudolph II partly as an astrologer.
Some of the clay tablets of Babylonia were astronomical tablets. These tablets made it possible to work out exactly the time when eclipses (shadowing) of the moon and sun would occur. People believed that eclipses were a bad omen. The astrologers, who could predict the time of eclipses, were looked upon as powerful, important people.
At the same time people were discovering that Astronomy had many uses and that some of these uses were of great importance. The position of the sun as it rose and set was used to mark out the length of the day. Astronomy was used to give accurate time, to mark the length of the year, and to draw up the first calendars. Travelers in the desert and seafarers used the sun by day and the stars by night to find their way.
Tags: astronomy, Origins of Astronomy
May 21
Drawings of the phases of the moon (the seeming changes in its shape) have been found in caves in Spain.
These drawings are about 10,000 years old. About 6,000 years ago people in various parts of Europe set huge stones that could be used to mark the places of the rising and setting of the sun and moon. One especially well known group of these stones is at Stonehenge, southern England. It is ring of stone archways. In this primary observatory, the seasons of the year can be determined by the movement of the sun and moon as seen through the archways.
People in ancient Egypt, Babylonia, China, Mexico and other parts in the world also studies night skies. The earliest astronomy records we have were made on clay tablets in Babylonia about 3,000 years ago. They were made by astrologers, or high priests who carefully studied the movements of the sun, moon, and planets in the night sky. They believed that these movements revealed what was going to happen on the earth. In those days people thought that the stars and planets controlled the lives of human beings. Even today there are people who believe in astrology, but there is no scientific proof for its claims.
Tags: astronomy, Origins of Astronomy
