AST 3044- Midterm Exam Guide - Comprehensive Notes for the exam ( 13 pages long!)
Document Summary
Myths and legends surrounding ancient man-made sites. Clear ancient people obsessed with the planets. Even by 1830"s astronomy was essentially only dealing with the solar system. John herschel - 1833 treatise on astronomy, 1 chapter on the stars. Earliest evidence we have is for navigation and timekeeping. Marking of the seasons and planting and harvesting of crops. Astronomy as we know it developed in north western europe. Marking of the solstices and the turning of the seasons. A model of the heavens (solar system) predicting forthcoming systems. Used to be a spectacular display - city lights have ruined it in modern times - the heavens told stories that were passed on to generations. Their motion is predictable - same stars appear at the same time of the year, egyptians could predict the motion of mars several years ahead. Ancient people were very familiar with the motion of the heavens. The daily, monthly, yearly motions of the celestial bodies.
