EAR 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Cosmic Microwave Background, Kepler (Spacecraft), Exoplanet
16 Sep 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
The scientific method provides a foundation to explore the cosmos, the sun, the earth, and other celestial objects. The universe contains two basic elements (the two are related by theory of special relativity: matter, energy. Early astronomers looked and guessed and realized that: stars are fixed relative to each other, all the stars rotate about a fixed point. 3. the planets move against the background of stars. Early astronomers were guided by the belief that the earth was the center of the universe. There were two competing views of the universe: geocentric - heavenly bodies circle around a motionless central earth, idea held a religious dogma for 1400 years, heliocentric - sun-centered universe, idea was unpopular until the renaissance. The renaissance, a new age of discovery in the 1400s europe, spawned a new age of scientific exploration. It was the birth of empirical study where the theorists honored the data rather than espousing a specific theory.
