Astronomy
Astronomy is the study of planets, stars, galaxies, and other objects found in outer space. Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. It was done even before history was written. Astronomy should not be confused with astrology, which is not a science.
Early astronomy.
The early astronomers were traders and sailors who needed the stars to guide them at night. Farmers, who needed to find out when planting, flooding, or harvesting times were coming, looked at the rising and setting of certain constellations in the sky. Ancient people who built things like Stonehenge, and the native North American medicine wheels, probably studied the sky for religious or sacred reasons. All these people needed accurate knowledge of the phases of the Moon, the most north and most south seasonal points of the sun, and other information for their purposes.
Some people called astrologers believe they can predict the future by studying where the planets are in the sky when a person is born. Astrology is not regarded as a science these days. In the past, astrology and astronomy were closely linked, and people kept careful records of what they saw. These records have been very important to astronomers during the past two centuries, as they were trying to understand the Universe.
History of astronomy.
Early people studied the stars using only their eyes as telescopes and binoculuars had not yet been invented. People saw some of the planets such as Mars and Venus, and studied Earth's Moon. People made maps of the stars positions and movements and used these for navigation. Early astronomers thought that the Sun and the stars went around or orbited the Earth. This was what everyone believed for hundreds of years. But later, during a time called the Renaissance, a man called Nicolaus Copernicus proved that the Earth moves around the sun. He came up with the idea of a Solar System where the Earth and planets move around the Sun.
His idea was improved on by an important man called Galileo Galilei. Galileo helped to create the telescope which made it possible for people to see things much farther away. Galileo got into trouble with the church though because he argued against the idea that Earth was the center of everything. The Pope passed an order that made Galileo stay in his house and publish no books for most of his life.
After Galileo, people used telescopes more often and began to see further-away objects such as the planets Uranus and Neptune. They also saw how stars were similar to our Sun, but in a range of colours and sizes and other far away objects such as nebula.
Since the 20th century astronomy has progressed a lot. It is now possible to use very big telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope to look at stars and galaxies billions of miles away. Astronomers now use giant transmitters to look at things using x rays and radio waves.
Astronomy Equipment.
To study astronomy on a basic level you can just use your eyes. Looking at something with just your eyes is called using your naked eye. Many stars are too far away to see with your eyes: you need binoculars or a telescope to see them.
Kinds of astronomy.
Astronomy has become a very large science in the past few hundred years, and there are many different types of astronomy.
Lunar astronomers study the moon, while planetary astronomers study the planets near our sun, and the planets near other stars. Some astronomers study special types of stars, like when two stars are next to each other. Other astronomers study distant galaxies, which are very large groups of many stars.
There are also astronomers who never look at the sky at all. These "theoretical" astronomers use physics and mathematics in combination with computers to create "models" of how the universe behaves, then they compare their models to what is observed. They want to understand and predict the events which happen in the universe, and understand how the universe was formed.
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