AST251H1 Lecture : Lecture 1, Intro Introduction to the course -History of astronomy and science -Definition of life -Scientific model
Document Summary
A system capable of evolution of natural selection. Babylonians & mayans 2500 bce predicted eclipses and other astronomical phenomena. Early greeks 500 bce: life extends beyond earth. 600 bce: thales asks what the universe is made of. 450 bce anaxagoras: panspermia (seeds of life) are ubiquitous in universe (really just a take on abiogenesis) Democritus 400 bce: atomic theory lead to belief in extraterrestrial life. Aristotle 350 bce: four elements on earth and quintessence in heavens. Western and christian thought: earth and man are special . Brahe, kepler and newton made careful observations and developed rules. Marconi listens for radio signals for mars, on a boat in the ocean. Canals on mars are thought to imply a culture. Anaximander (600 bce), pythagoras and aristotle (350 bce) Eratosthenes (240 bce) estimated radius of spherical earth. Eclipses placed a role in their understanding of relative sizes. A model is a set of rules to explain observations.