MINDORO STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

Alcate, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro

“ASTRONOMERS AND THEIR

SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS”

Name: Jennifer Kim L. Magallanes

BSED – SCIENCE II
Date: December 2, 2019
Astronomers and their Significant Contributions
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
1. Recognize some of the great astronomers and their significant contributions,
2. Show cooperation in performing group activities, and
3. Appreciate the essence of the contributions of astronomers in life.

Introduction

Astronomy is one of the important fields of natural science that had brought impacts
and changes in our perception about the origin of our universe through the discoveries and
studies of our great astronomers. Now in this subject, we are going to meet some of our
great astronomers as well as their own significant contribution in the field of astronomy.
Also, we are going to describe the skills that should be possessed by an astronomer. Let’s
see whose astronomers gave the right theories and concepts about the outer space
phenomena as we go on in our discussion.

Motivation
The title of the game is “GUESS ME”. The reporter asked 10 from the class who
will participate in the activity. They were divided into two groups. For instruction, the two
groups fell in line, then tried to guess the illustration or images showed in the presentation.
The group who gained higher points became the winner and received a prize.
Answers:
1. Nicolaus Copernicus 5. Tycho Brahe
2. Galileo Galilei 6. Eratosthenes
3. Geocentric model 7. Hipparchus
4. Johannes Kepler 8. Aristarchus

Guide Questions/Provoking Questions

For this subject, the reporter used the following guide questions in her discussion.
1. What is an astronomer?
2. What are the skills that should be possessed by an astronomer in order to come
up with accurate data or reasonable theories as our future contribution in the
field of astronomy?
3. Who are some of the great astronomers in the world?
4. What are the significant contributions of these astronomers?
5. What is the importance of the contribution of astronomers in your life?

Discussions
What is an Astronomer?
A person who is skilled or who makes observations of celestial phenomena. (Merriam-
Webster Dictionary)
Scientific Method
1. Ask question. 4. Observe using all the senses.
2. Formulate a hypothesis. 5. Analyze the data.
3. Test the hypothesis through experiment. 6. Make a conclusion.
ASTRONOMERS
1. ERATOSTHENES (276 BC TO 195 BC)

 Librarian at the Great Library of Alexandria

in Egypt.
 Developed a calendar with a leap year.
 Measured the circumference of the Earth in
325 BC (90% accuracy of the exact number)
 Eratosthenes become the Father of
Geography.
 Eratosthenes used the sun to measure the size of the round Earth.
 Eratosthenes used a spherical Earth model, and some simple geometry, to calculate
its circumference.
 Eratosthenes realizes that the ratio of a complete circle (360 degrees) to 7 degrees is
the same as the ratio of the circumference of the Earth to the distance from Alexandria
to Syene.
 He discovered that the distance between the two cities is 4900 stadia, approximately
784 kilometers.

Eratosthenes’ measurement of
the size of the Earth

2. HIPPARCHUS (190 BC TO 120 BC)

 Hipparchus is consider the first great astronomer and scientist.

 He produced first star catalog and recorded the names of
constellations.
 He realized that more data meant more certainty in the idea
or model
 Based on measurements during an eclipse, he is able to place
a range on the distance to the moon (between 59 and 67 Earth
diameters; the actual number is 60).
 He marks the first truly scientific astronomical mind and his
influence is still felt today.
 Created highly accurate star atlases in an attempt to measure
the length of
the year more accurately.
 He measured the length of the year to
within 6.5 minutes of the actual time.
 He discovered precession by
examining ancient star position data
(mostly Mesopotamian) and
comparing them to his own
measurements. Visible to the ancients-
the Sun and the Moon, plus the five
planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter
 and Saturn. Planets were not on the celestial sphere. Plato first proposed that the
planets followed perfect circular orbits around the Earth.

3. ARISTARCHUS (310 BC TO 230 BC)

 Aristarchus of Samos (270 B.C.) proposed an alternative

model of the Solar System placing the Sun at the center with
the Earth and the planets in circular orbit around it. The Moon
orbits around the Earth. This model became known as the
heliocentric model.
 Aristarchus is the first to attempt to measure the relative
distance between the Earth-Moon and the Earth-Sun
without the aid of trigonometry.
 Actual angle = 89° 50” not 87°

Problems for Heliocentric Theory:

While today we know that the Sun is at the center of the solar system, this was not obvious
for the technology of the times pre-1500's. In particular, Aristarchus' model was ruled out
by the philosophers at the time for three reasons:
 Earth in orbit around Sun means that the Earth is in motion. Before the discovery
of Newton's law of motion, it was impossible to imagine motion without being able
to `feel' it. Clearly, no motion is detected (although trade winds are due to the
Earth's rotation).
 2. If the Earth undergoes a circular orbit, then nearby stars would have a parallax.
A parallax is an apparent shift in the position of nearby stars relative to distant stars.
 3. Lastly, geocentric ideas seem more `natural' to a philosopher. Earth at the center
of the Universe is a very ego-centric idea, and has an aesthetic appeal.

4. CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY (ABOUT 85 AD TO 165 AD)

 Ptolemy was an Egyptian astronomer, geographer and

mathematician of Greek ancestry.
 He is a great proponent of the geocentric model in which the
sun, stars, and other planets revolved around Earth.
 According to NASA, "Ptolemy represents the epitome of
knowledge of Grecian astronomy."
 Ptolemy was an Egyptian astronomer, geographer and
mathematician of Greek ancestry.
 He is important for preserving the Greek astronomer Hipparchus’ star catalogue,
which he included in his astronomical magnum opus, Almagest.
 The Almagest was the most important astronomical text in existence for close to
fifteen hundred years after the death of Ptolemy, and because of this, its author
gained a near legendary status. He also included in his work a set of tables known
almost comically as the Handy Tables.

The Ptolemaic geocentric model of the universe, The Christian Aristotelian cosmos,
devised by the Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy, had engraving from Peter Apian's
everything revolving around Earth. Cosmographia, 1524
(Image credit: Bartolomeu Velho, Public Domain)

 Ptolemy accepted the following order for celestial objects in the solar system: Earth
(center), Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. However, when
the detailed observations of the planets in the skies is examined, the planets undergo
motion which is impossible to explain in the geocentric model, a backward track
for the outer planets. This behavior is called retrograde motion.

 The solution to retrograde motion was to use a system of circles on circles to explain
the orbits of the planets called epicycles and deferents. The main orbit is the
deferent, the smaller orbit is the epicycle. Although only one epicycle is shown in
the figure below, over 28 were required to explain the actual orbits of the planets.
  This model, while complicated, was a complete description of the Solar System that
explained, and predicted, the apparent motions of all the planets. The Ptolemic
system began the 1st mathematical paradigm or framework for our understanding
of Nature.
5. NICOLAUS COPERNICUS (1473–1543)

In 16th century Poland, astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus

proposed a model of the solar system that involved the Earth
revolving around the sun. The model wasn't completely
correct, as astronomers of the time struggled with the
backwards path Mars sometimes took, but it eventually
changed the way many scientists viewed the solar system.
 He is extremely significant because he is credited as the
first astronomer to put forward a comprehensive
heliocentric version of the solar system.
 He expanded the ideas of Aristarchus.
 Identified the positions of the planet.

6. TYCHO BRAHE (1580'S)

 Tycho Brahe was astronomy's 1st true observer. He built

the Danish Observatory (using sextant's since telescopes
had not been invented yet) from which he measured
positions of planets and stars to the highest degree of
accuracy for that time period (1st modern database). He
showed that the Sun was much farther than the Moon
from the Earth, using simple trigonometry of the angle
between the Moon and the Sun at 1st Quarter.
 Beyond Tycho Brahe's accomplishments in the
observational arena, he is also remembered for introducing two compromise solutions
to the solar system model now referred to as the geoheliocentric models.
 Brahe was strongly influenced by the
idea of Mercury and Venus revolving
around the Sun to explain the fact that their
apparent motion across the sky never takes
them more than a few tens of degrees from
the Sun (called their greatest elongation).
The behavior of inner worlds differs from
the orbital behavior of the outer planets,
which can be found at any place on the
elliptic during their orbital cycle.

7. JOHANNES KEPLER (1600'S)

 Kepler, a student of Tycho who used Brahe's database to

formulate the Laws of Planetary Motion which corrects
the problems of epicycles in the heliocentric theory by
using ellipses instead of circles for orbits of the planets.
 This is a key mathematical formulation because the
reason Copernicus' heliocentric model has to use
epicycles is due to the fact that he assumed perfectly
 circular orbits. With the use of ellipses, the heliocentric model eliminates the need for
epicycles and deferents.
 The orbital motion of a planet is completely
described by six elements: the semi-major
axis, the eccentricity, the inclination, the
longitude of the ascending node, the
argument of the perihelion and the time of
the perihelion.

 The formulation of a highly accurate system

of determining the motions of all the planets
marks the beginning of the clockwork
Universe concept, and another paradigm shift
in our philosophy of science.

8. GALILEO GALILEI (1620'S)

 Italian scientist who supported Copernican Theory.

 He invented telescope or sky observations
 He saw 4 moons of Jupiter and observed that Venus
appeared to change its shape regularly.
 Galilei is the pioneer of astronomical observation in a
modern context.
 Galileo developed laws of motion (natural versus forced
motion, rest versus uniform motion). Then, with a small
refracting telescope (3-inches), destroyed the idea of a
"perfect", geocentric Universe with the following 5 discoveries:

• spots on the Sun

• mountains and "seas" (maria) on the Moon
• heliocentric model
• Milky Way is made of lots of stars
• Jupiter has moons (Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Callisto, Ganymede)

9. SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1680'S)

 Isaac Newton developed the law of Universal Gravitation, laws of accelerated motion,
invented calculus (math tool), the 1st reflecting telescope and theory of light.... off to
the 18-20th century, with discovery of the outer planets and where astronomy moves
towards discoveries in stellar and galactic areas, next
paradigm shift occurs in early 1960's with NASA deep
space probes.
 Showed that all objects in the universe attract each
other through gravitational force.
 The force of gravity depends on the mass of the
objects and the distance between them.
 This explains why the planets orbit the most massive
object in our solar system: the sun.
10. EDWIN HUBBLE
 Edwin Hubble, who did most of his major work in the first half of the twentieth century,
had perhaps the most momentous discovery of all of the astronomers on this list.
 Hubble is credited with discovering galaxies outside of our
own Milky Way. Although the race to solve this mystery had
contributions from many different scientists, it was Hubble’s
observations through the Hooker telescope, around the year
1923 that proved to the scientific community that there was
more to outer space than the Milky Way.
 In essence, with one finding, Hubble ballooned the Universe
from a galaxy of about a hundred thousand light years across,
with approximately one hundred billion stars, to an indefinite
expanse of intergalactic
space, billions of light years
across, and with a seemingly
infinite amount of stars.
 However, Hubble didn’t stop there. He showed that
these separate galaxies were moving away from each
other by observing there redshifts, an effect caused by
light being stretched out over vast distances. His
observations led him to the discovery that the farther
away a galaxy was from the Milky Way, the faster it
was moving away from us. This is known as Hubble’s
Law. A cool side-note is that Einstein himself thanked
Hubble personally for making this discovery, because
it verified some of the work that Einstein had done
years before that hadn’t been fully accepted.
Edwin Hubble Telescope
Key Ideas

 Astronomers proved that everything upon the outer space can be observed
through the use of mathematical calculations even without high technologies.
But with the use of modernized tools, astronomers could come up to more
accurate data and more reasonable theories and concepts.
 Great astronomers of the world are really amazing for rendering imperative
contributions in the field of astronomy through their studies, discoveries and
observations on the outer space phenomena.
 The contributions of our great astronomers are really significant not only in
the field of astronomy but also in our lives because we become aware on how
the universe began, how the planets move and what are the possible impacts
of these motions.

Generalization
As a summary, here are the following concepts that were discussed by the reporter:
 Astronomer is a person who is skilled or who makes observations of celestial
phenomena.
 Astronomers use scientific method for the systematic pursuit of knowledge in
making their observations and studies. This method involves asking a question,
formulating of hypothesis, testing of the hypothesis, observation using all senses,
analysis of the data and making of conclusion.
  The astronomers discussed in the class are Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Aristarchus,
Claudius Ptolemy, Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo
Galilei, Isaac Newton and Edwin Hubble.
 Erathosthenes is the very first one to measure the circumference of the Earth in 325
BC (90% accuracy of the exact number). Hipparchus produced first star catalog and
recorded the names of constellations. Johannes Kepler formulated the Laws of
Planetary Motion which corrects the problems of epicycles in the heliocentric
theory by using ellipses instead of circles for orbits of the planets. Galileo Galilei
invented telescope for sky observations. Isaac Newton developed the law of
Universal Gravitation, laws of accelerated motion, invented calculus (math tool),
the first reflecting telescope and theory of light off to the 18-20th century, with
discovery of the outer planets and where astronomy moves towards discoveries in
stellar and galactic areas, next paradigm shift occurs in early 1960's with NASA
deep space probes. Hubble is credited with discovering galaxies outside of our own
Milky Way
 Aristarchus, Copernicus and Galilei supported the Heliocentric model wherein the
sun is at the center of the solar system while Claudius Ptolemy greatly proposed the
Geocentric model in which the sun, stars, and other planets revolved around Earth.
On the other hand, Tycho Brahe introduced the two compromise solutions to the
solar system model now referred to as the geoheliocentric models.

Evaluation : Matching type

Direction: In ¼ sheet of paper, answer the following by matching the astronomer with their
corresponding significant contribution in astronomy.
Column A Column B
____1. He produced first star catalog and recorded the
names of constellations.
____2. He developed the law of Universal Gravitation and A. Galileo Galilei
laws of accelerated motion.
____3. He measured the circumference of the Earth in 325 B. Johannes Kepler
BC (90% accuracy of the exact number).
C. Eratosthenes
____4. He is a great proponent of the geocentric model in
which the sun, stars, and other planets revolved around D. Nicolaus
Earth.
____5. He expanded the ideas of Aristarchus. Copernicus

____6. He invented telescope or sky observations. E. Sir Isaac Newton

____7. He is also remembered for introducing two
F. Tycho Brahe
compromise solutions to the solar system model now
referred to as the geoheliocentric models.
G. Aristarchus
____8. He proposed an alternative model of the Solar
System placing the Sun at the center with the Earth and the H. Edwin Hubble
planets in circular orbit around it.
I. Hipparchus
____9. He discovered that that the farther away a galaxy was
from the Milky Way, the faster it was moving away from us. J. Claudius Ptolemy
____10. He formulated the Laws of Planetary Motion.
____11. He developed a calendar with a leap year.
 ____12. He did most of his major work in the first half of
the twentieth century, had perhaps the most momentous
discovery of all of the astronomers on this list.
____13. He is the pioneer of astronomical observation in a
modern context.
____14. He showed that the Sun was much farther than the
Moon from the Earth, using simple trigonometry of the
angle between the Moon and the Sun at 1st Quarter.
____15. He is extremely significant because he is credited
as the first astronomer to put forward a comprehensive
heliocentric version of the solar system.
____16. Based on measurements during an eclipse, he is
able to place a range on the distance to the moon (between
59 and 67 Earth diameters; the actual number is 60).
____17. He is the first to attempt to measure the relative
distance between the Earth-Moon and the Earth-Sun without
the aid of trigonometry.
____18. He showed that all objects in the universe attract
each other through gravitational force.
____19. He saw 4 moons of Jupiter and observed that Venus
appeared to change its shape regularly.
____20. He is important for preserving the Greek
astronomer Hipparchus’ star catalogue, which he included
in his astronomical magnum opus, Almagest.

Reflection
After knowing my topic to be reported in the class, I got excited because it is such
an interesting topic and I really want to learn about it too together with my classmates. It
may be easy since everything is on the internet, but what makes it hard for me is the part
of choosing astronomers that I will discuss in the class because there is really quite a lot of
astronomers who came from different land and period. In the end, I picked the ten
astronomers that I reported based from their sensible schemes and noteworthy
contributions in the field of astronomy.
I’m happy that I was able to tackle my topic clearly. I really appreciate the
cooperation of the class in the given activity and for sharing their own insights and ideas
whenever I ask questions related to the topic. I just hope that our class learned something
from my discussion especially about the importance of the astronomers and their
contributions in astronomy. If I will be asked if I learned, my answer is absolutely yes. In
fact, I admire and respect our great astronomers for their notable works. Somehow, I
imagine myself riding in a spacecraft and exploring the outer space then landing on one of
the planets or moon if possible or making observation of the sky using Galilean or Hubble
telescope just like what our astronomers did during their time.
I believe that astronomy has always had a significant influence in people’s world
views. Thus, an astronomers play an important role in the world as they study about the
objects and matter outside the Earth’s atmosphere and of their physical and chemical
properties. Everyone should be grateful for them because they already did their part for the
world. How about us? As a human being of today’s generation living in the only planet
that support life-Earth, I think the least we can do is to protect and take good care of our
home.
Compilation of handout,
activities, quizzes and
examination in
Astronomy 111