Chapter I

History and Evolution of Astronomy and

Astrology
Astrology is a pseudo-science which claims that the positions of the heav-
enly bodies have an effect on the lives of human beings and events on Earth.
Astronomy has a scientific basis and which involves the scientific study of the
position , motion composition and evolution of heavenly bodies.
Before the time of Galileo both astronomy (ancient astronomy ) and astrol-
ogy were considered as same. In ancient times, astrology (ancient astronomy)
involved study about the motion and other properties of five planets (mercury,
Venus, mars, Jupiter, Saturn), almost 8000 of stars and about some comets
which were seen through naked eye. Astrologers tried to predict not only the be-
havior of the heavens, but also wars, natural disasters, the rise and fall of kings,
and other earthly matters. But at that time (before 17th century)astrologers
never tried to predict the future of human beings based on the position of as-
tronomical objects.
1609 was considered as birth year of modern astronomy, the year in which
Galileo discovered Telescope to view heavenly bodies. After that high quality
telescopes were discovered which gave images by analyzing the radio, infrared
and X-rays coming from distant objects. Also by analyzing the spectrum (spec-
trum means the set of radiations having different wavelength) of stars and other
bodies using spectrometers it is possible to obtain the details about the size,
nature, content etc. From 17th century onwards the development in astronomy
was too fast with the advance in modern science and technology.
The development of ancient astronomy or astrol-
ogy
History of ancient astronomy or astrology starts from the time of origin of
river valley civilizations (Measopotamian, Indus valley, Egyptian and chinese
civilizations ), regions were peoples lived as groups. At that time to be a good
priest, to be a good carpenter even to be a good farmer peoples had to know
astrology. For many of their questions they found out answer from the sky by
observing the celestial bodies.
In ancient times peoples divided the stars in the sky in to different groups.
On connecting the stars in a group by lines, shapes resembling to some of the
birds or animals evolved, that group having the name of a particular animal
was a constellation. There were almost 88 constellation in the sky. Babylonians
were the ones who gave most of the contribution to this particular method, after
that Egyptians, Greeks and Arabians followed them . In ancient India peoples
were only interested in constellations (group of stars) in the path of Sun and
Moon. At that time peoples depended astrology for the following purposes.

For measuring time

In early days peoples used to divide the time between Sun set and Sun rise as a
day gradually that changed and a day was fixed as the time between midnight

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and noon. One day was divided in to 24 hours and each hour in to 60 minutes
and each minute in to 60 seconds. This custom was first introduced by Egyptians
from there it came to Greece and from there to Europe also. At that ages
time were measured using shadow clock, water clocks and sand clocks. But for
measuring time in night they mainly used stars, if we know the rising time of
a star we can easily calculate time. Every star takes 23 hours and 56 minutes
to complete one cycle around Earth, means 1436 minutes hence one star covers
almost 1◦ in four minutes. By knowing the rising time and the degrees it covered
after rising we can calculate the time passed.

For finding directions

It is a universal fact that Sun rises in the East and sets in the West hence it is
possible to predict the direction based on the position of Sun. But knowing the
directions in the night with Sun is not possible. By using other stars peoples
easily identified the directions in the night also. Babylonians were the one who
contributed to this mostly. Among stars Pole star (Polaris or North star) was
the main star used for detecting the North. Pole star never sets or rises. Some
of the other constellations used for finding directions are Ursa major in the
northern hemisphere, southern crux in Southern hemisphere and Orion usful to
peoples in both of the hemispheres.

For Agriculture
In ancient times there were no calenders hence it was difficult to predict seasonal
changes. Also the first calender used was Lunar calender(now we uses solar
calender). Lunar year consist twelve months with each month consisting 29.5
days, hence almost 354 days in a year. Seasonal variations was not in accordance
with this calender, since it consist 354 days a year and seasonal variation repeats
in every 365 days. At that time in countries like India ,China and Egypt stars
were used to predict seasonal variations and hence farmers depended on stars
to know at what time a crop has to be planted.

Determing the Age

In olden times when there is no calender peoples used to calculate the age of
human beings and important monuments by noting the position of planets,
moon and Sun in the Zodiac. They have a big clock in the sky with Zodiac
as the dial and three planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn ), Sun, Moon and Vernal
equinox as the handles. If one know the position of planets, Moon, Sun, Vernal
equinox in the Zodiac (grahanila) at the birth and present time of a human
being or some historical monuments it is possible to calculate the age .

Difference between Astrology in ancient and mod-

ern times
In ancient times peoples practiced astrology to aquaire different information
needed in their daily life such as finding direction, measuring time, identifying
different seasons, for calculating age. In ancient times astrologers also tried to

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to predict signs for the occurrence of good and bad thing in a country and they
also tried to predict the future of a kingdom. But in ancient times astrologers
never tried to predict the future of a human being using his (””’Grahanila)
In modern ages especially in twentieth century astrologers are mostly con-
centrated on the prediction of future of a human being based on his birth time.
This custom was actually started in America in the beginning of twentieths
century. From there it spread all over the world

Modern Astronomy
Peoples were thinking about the nature of universe from ancient times itself.
Aristotle first introduced concept of Earth centered Universe and Ptolemy sup-
ported the idea. These idea lasted for a very long time (almost 2000 years)
in west. But in 16th century a polish astronomer named Nicolai Copernicus
proposed a new idea. He proposed the Heliocentric model of universe, were
Sun was considered as the center of Universe and all other planets are assumed
to be revolving around the sun . Hence sixteenth century is considered as the
birth century of modern astronomy. After that Galileo invented telescope in
1609 which was an important leap in the development of Modern astronomy.
In the same year (1609) Kepler published his three laws on planetary motion.
After the invention of telescope development of astronomy was too fast. New-
ton came up with his universal laws of Gravitation. Later Einstein and many
other scientists made lot of contribution to the field. Today it is possible to
observe celestial bodies from the space itself, since we have space stations. Us-
ing the advanced equipments available today it is possible to analyze the visible
radiations(VIBGYOR), non visible radiations(X-ray, Gamma – ray, Ultraviolet,
Infrared )and different high energy particles coming out from different celestial
objects. These data’s are helpful to get all the possible details regarding that
astronomical objects.

Two important branches of modern Astronomy.

Astronomy, derived from the Greek words for star law, is the scientific study
of all objects beyond our world. It is also the process by which we seek to
understand the physical laws and origins of our universe.There are really two
main branches of astronomy: optical astronomy and non-optical astronomy.

Optical Astronomy
In optical astronomy astronomers mainly uses the image of the heavenly bodies
taken through telescopes in visible range. Now a days it is possible to get clear
and enlarged images of astronomical objects taken from the space telescopes like
Hubble space telescopes. Also in spectroscopy astronomers studies the spectrum
of radiation coming out of celestial bodies. In photometry one studies about the
amount of visible radiations coming out of an astronomical object. This studies
gives information regarding the structure, nature and evolution of objects in our
Universe

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Non-optical Astronomy
In Non-optical astronomy instrument are used to analyses the radiations such as
microwave ,radio wave UV rays, IR rays, X-rays and gamma rays coming from
astronomical objects which are not visible through humen eye. By studying
these radiations astronomers are able to give the information regarding size ,
temperature, surface temperature etc of astronomical objects. They give us
information about the evolution and physics of some of the Universe’s most
dynamic treasures, such as neutron stars and black holes. And it is because of
these endeavors that we have learned about the structure of galaxies including
our Milky Way.

1 Pioneers of Astronomy
Nicolas Copernicus (1473 - 1543) : He was a Polish physician and
lawyer by trade, but is now regarded as the father of the current heliocentric
model of the solar system.

Tycho Brahe (1546 - 1601) : A Danish nobleman, Tycho designed

and built instruments of greater power and resolution than anything that had
been developed previously. He used these instruments to chart the positions of
planets and other celestial objects with such great precision, that it debunked
many of the commonly held notions of planetary and stellar motion.

Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630) : A student of Tycho’s, Kepler contin-

ued his work, and from that discovered three laws of planetary motion:

Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) : While Galileo is sometimes credited

(incorrectly) with being the creator of the telescope, he was the first to use
the telescope to make detailed studies of heavenly bodies. He was the first to
conclude that the Moon was likely similar in composition to the Earth, and that
the Sun’s surface changed (i.e., the motion of sunspots on the Sun’s surface).
He was also the first to see four of Jupiter’s moons, and the phases of Venus.
Ultimately it was his observations of the Milky Way, specifically the detection
of countless stars, that shook the scientific community.

Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) : Considered one of the greatest scientific

minds of all time, Newton not only deduced the law of gravity, but realized the
need for a new type of mathematics (calculus) to describe it. His discoveries
and theories dictated the direction of science for more than 200 years, and truly
ushered in the era of modern astronomy.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) : Einstein is famous for his development

of general relativity, a correction to Newton’s law of gravity. But, his relation of
energy to mass (E = mc2 ) is also important to astronomy, as it is the basis for
which we understand how the Sun, and other stars, fuse hydrogen into Helium
for energy.

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Amateur observational astronomy
Amateur observational astronomy is the unlimited hobby of learning about the
universe and observing it. There are five major types of amateur observing.

Unaided eye observing

Unaided eye observing is observing astronomical objects without optical instru-
ments such as binoculars and telescopes. It is a perfect way to start a hobby
in observational astronomy. Also, unaided eye observing provides excellent ob-
serving skills that are needed when you use binoculars and telescopes.

Observing with binoculars

Observing astronomical objects with binoculars is a major step up in seeing
additional astronomical objects and more details that could not be seen with
the unaided eye. Using binoculars is an excellent observing phase to develop new
observing skills before purchasing a telescope. The benefits of using binoculars
versus using a telescope include:

1. Starting to observe with binoculars can be much less expensive than

starting with a telescope.

2. Binoculars are easier to use because they are smaller, lighter and can
easily be taken on trips.

3. Binoculars are quicker to use; most telescopes require assembly and

disassembly during an observing session.

4. Binoculars provide a wider field of view than most telescopes.

Observing with telescopes

Here astronomical objects are observed using good quality telescopes. Even
though telescopes have a lesser field of view compaired to binoculars telescopes
are more powerful and it is possible to see many objects which are not seen
through binoculars. Now a days we have different types of powerful telescopes.

Observing with cameras

Observing astronomical objects with a camera is very exciting, astronomical
images from the camera contain fainter details that cannot be seen using visual
observing methods. Another benefit of astroimaging is sharing your images with
others.

Astronomical spectroscopy
Astronomical spectroscopy is measuring the object’s electromagnetic radiation
spectrum. It is possible collect and analyse visible and non visible radiations
coming out of astronomical objects using advance equipments available today.

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 Chapter 2
Celestial sphere
Through naked eye we can see almost 5000 stars in the night sky at a time.
These stars are arranged in groups, each called a constellation (there be 88
constellations in our sky). Twelve of the constellations lies in the apparent path
of the sun and moon in the sky and are called the signs of the Zodiac(Zodiac is
an imaginary belt on the celestial sphere, extending about 8◦ on each side of the
ecliptic, within which are the apparent paths of the sun, moon, and principal
planets.). 27 constellation lies in the lunar path, represent the 27 Nakshatras
(asterisms) used in India. Stars and galaxies are located several light years (1
light year is the distance travelled by light in one year) away from our earth.
Idea of celestial sphere is a convenient way of locating stars and galaxies on the
surface of a sphere.
Celestial sphere
Imaginary sphere of infinite radius on the surface of which stars and galaxies
are appeared to be located to an observer in earth is called celestial sphere (It
is shown in fig.1).

Great circle: circle on the surface of celestial sphere, formed by the in-
tersection of a plane passing through its centre. Axis of any great circle is the
diameter of the celestial sphere.

Small circle: Circles on the surface of celestial sphere having radius less
than that of the great circle are called small circles.

Figure 1: Celestial Sphere

Zenith and Nadir: The point on the celestial sphere which is directly
overhead to an observer on earth is called zenith. Point on the celestial sphere
which is directly below the observer is called nadir (a line is drawn in the
direction of gravitational force from the observer on the earth and extend it on

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both sides to meet at zenith on top and nadir at the bottom of the celestial
sphere)

Vertical circle: A great circle on the celestial sphere that passes through
the zenith and the nadir and thus is perpendicular to the horizon.

Horizon: The plane tangent to the earth surface and perpendicular to the
plumb line(a line pointing towards the center of earth) is the plane of the true
horizon of the observer.

Celestial equator: The great circle in which the plane of the Earth’s
equator meets the celestial sphere. Celestial axis: Axis through the centre of
the celestial sphere perpendicular to the celestial equator is the celestial axis.

Celestial North Pole (CNP) Celestial South Pole (CSP): The

point at which celestial axis intersects the celestial sphere in north is called
CNP and in south it is called CSP.

Meridian: It is the great circle passing through the Zenith, Nadir and the
celestial poles.

Ecliptic: Great circle which is inclined to the celestial equator by an angle

23.50 and through which sun is moving on celestial sphere is called ecliptic.

Points on celestial sphere

Vernal equinox: One point of intersection of celestial equator and ecliptic,
through which sun crosses the equator from south to north.

Figure 2: Celestial Sphere

Autumnal equinox: The other point of intersection of celestial equator

and ecliptic through which sun crosses the equator from north to south.

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 Summer solstice: The northernmost point of ecliptic.

Winter solstice: The southernmost point of ecliptic.

Co-ordinate systems
A coordinate system is a system which commonly uses one or more numbers, or
coordinates, to uniquely determine the position of a point in space, coordinates
are taken to be real numbers. Celestial coordinate systems are the coordinate
systems used for mapping points on the celestial sphere. There be a number of
celestial coordinate systems in use, two of the important systems are
1.)Horizontal coordinate system. 2.)The equatorial coordinate system

Horizontal coordinate system

The horizontal coordinate system sometimes called the Altitude/Azimuth co-
ordinate system is a celestial coordinate system that uses the observer’s local
horizon as the fundamental plane. The horizontal coordinate system is fixed
to the Earth and not to the stars there for the position of an object changes
with time, as the object appears to drift across the sky. In addition, because
the Horizontal system is defined by your local horizon, the same object viewed
from different locations on Earth at the same time will have different values of
Altitude and Azimuth. This coordinate system divides the sky into the upper
hemisphere where objects are visible, and the lower hemisphere where objects
cannot be seen since the earth is in the way. The pole of the upper hemisphere
is called the zenith. The pole of the lower hemisphere is called the nadir.The
horizontal coordinates are:

Figure 3: Horizontal coordinate system

Altitude (Alt)
Altitude is the angular distance above or below the horizon. This angular dis-
tance of the body above or below the celestial horizon is measured along the

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vertical circle passing through the body. It is expressed as an angle between 0
degrees to 90 degrees.

Azimuth (Az)
Azimuth is the angle of the object around the horizon, usually measured from
the north point towards the east. Both altitude and azimuth measurements are
shown in figure above.

Equatorial coordinate system

The equatorial coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system used for map-
ping celestial objects. It functions by projecting the Earth’s geographic poles
and equator onto the celestial sphere. The projection of the Earth’s equator onto
the celestial sphere is called the celestial equator. Similarly, the projections of
the Earth’s north and south geographic poles become the north and south ce-
lestial poles, respectively. Declination and Right ascension are the Coordinates
of the Equatorial coordinate system.

Declination
The latitudinal angle of the equatorial system is called declination. It mea-
sures the angle of an object above or below the celestial equator. Objects in
the northern celestial hemisphere have a positive declination, and those in the
southern celestial hemisphere have a negative declination. For example, the
north celestial pole has a declination of +90◦ .

Figure 4: equatorial coordinate system

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Right ascension
The longitudinal angle is called the right ascension (RA for short). It mea-
sures the angle of an object east of the vernal equinox (zero reference point of
right ascension is the Vernal Equinox Point). Unlike geographic longitude, right
ascension is usually measured in sidereal hours instead of degrees, because an
apparent rotation of the equatorial coordinate system takes 24 hours of sidereal
time to complete. There are (360 degrees / 24 hours) = 15 degrees in one hour
of right ascension.

Cardinal points
The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the directions of , north,
south, east, and west, commonly denoted by their initials: N, S, E, W. The
four principal directions on a compass (north, south, east, or west) and the
intermediate cardinal points are shown in the figure below.

Figure 5: cardinal points

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Earth
Shape of Earth
Exact shape of Earth is not spherical but it is Oblate spheroid (An oblate
spheroid is constructed by squsing a sphere from two of its poles.)

Figure 6: shape of Earth(oblate spheroid)

Geographical zones
Earth surface is divided into five latitude regions known as geographical zones,
with each zones separated by major circles of latitude. There be five major
circles of latitude, given below

(a) Arctic circle (66◦ 33’ 44” latitude)

(b) Tropic of cancer (23◦ 26’ 16” latitude)
(c) Equator (0◦ latitude)
(d)Tropic of capricon (-23◦ 26’ 16” latitude)
(e) Antarctic circle (-66◦ 33’ 44” latitude)

Earths surface is divided into regions depending on the climate and the be-
haviour of the Sun. They are as follows
1)The North frigid zone: region north of the artic circle
2)The North Temperate Zone : region between the arctic circle and the tropic
of cancer
3)The Torrid Zone: region between the tropic of cancer and tropic of capricon
4)The North Temperate Zone: region between the tropic of capricon and the
antarctic circle
5)The South Frigid Zone: region south of the antarctic circle

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 Figure 7: Geographical zones on Earth surface

Torrid zone
In the Torrid Zone, also known as the Tropics the Sun is comes directly overhead
at least once during the year. In the northern hemisphere, the overhead sun
moves north from the equator until it reaches 23.5◦ North (Tropic of Cancer)
up to the June Solstice (in solstice sun occupies northern most or southern
most point on the eclitic , june solstice – karkadaka samkranthi) after which it
moves back south to the equator. In the southern hemisphere, the overhead Sun
moves to the south from the equator until reaches 23.5◦ degrees South (Tropic
of Capricon) down to the December Solstice(makara samkranthi) after which it
moves back north to the equator. The torrid zone forms the hottest region of
the world with two annual seasons namely a dry and a wet season.

Temperate zone
In the two Temperate Zones, Sun is never directly overhead, and the climate is
mild(medium), generally ranging from warm to cool. The four annual seasons,
Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter occur in these areas.

Midnight sun and Polar night: The midnight sun is a natural phe-
nomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the
south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic
Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnigh. The polar night oc-
curs when the night lasts for more than 24 hours. This only occurs inside the
polar circles (two polar circles arctic circle and antarctic circle).

Frigid zones:
The two Frigid Zones, or polar regions, experience the midnight sun and the
polar night for part of the year - the edge of the zone experiences one day at
the solstice when the Sun doesn’t rise or set for 24 hours, while in the centre of
the zone (the pole), day is literally one year long, with six months of daylight
and six months of night. The Frigid Zones are the coldest parts of the earth,
and are covered with ice and snow.

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Motions of Earth
Earth has two types of motions
1).The rotation of earth about its own axes (which is passing through the north
and south pole of earth), for this earth takes almost 23h 56m 4s. Rotation of
earth is responsible for the alternate day and night cycles on earth.
2). Second type of motion is the revolution of earth arround sun in its elliptical
orbit, for this earth takes 365 days (corresponds to one year) .

Experimental proof for Earths Rotation

Foucault pendulum
Named after the French physicist Leon Foucault, is a simple device used as an
experiment to demonstrate the rotation of earth. While it had long been known
that the Earth rotated, the introduction of the Foucault pendulum in 1851 was
the first simple proof of the rotation in an easy-to-see experiment.

Figure 8: Foucaults pendulum

Experiment
The experimental apparatus consists of a tall pendulum ( weight suspended
from a point is called a pendulum) free to swing in any vertical plane. The
actual plane of swing appears to rotate relative to the Earth; in fact the plane is
fixed in space while the Earth rotates under the pendulum once a sidereal day.
The first public exhibition of a Foucault pendulum took place in February 1851
in the Meridian of the Paris Observatory. A few weeks later Foucault made his
most famous pendulum when he suspended a 28 kg brass-coated lead bob with
a 67 meter long wire from the dome of the Pantheon, Paris (a church in paris).
The plane of the pendulum’s swing rotated clockwise 11◦ per hour, making a
full circle in 32.7 hours.

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Effects of earths rotation
A reference frame is a coordinate system used for measuring the position of
points in space. Reference frame which is rotating is called a rotating reference
frame. Coordinate systems fixed on earth rotates because of the rotation of
earth about its on axis. Rotating frames of references are non-inertial frames
where Newton’s first and second laws are invalid. Force acting on objects in a
non-inertial frames are called fictitious force. Coriolis force is the fictitious force
acting on the objects moving on the surface of earth

Coriolis effect: Coriolis effect is a deflection of moving objects when they

are viewed in a rotating reference frame. This effect is due to the coriolis force
acting on the objects moving above the surface of earth.
Due to this coriolis effect objects moving in the norther hemisphere deflects right
of its path and in souther hemisphere objects deflects left of its path. Objects
falling freely to the ground from high altitudes have small deflection to the
east. Since the rotational speed of earth is low coriolis effect is noticeble only
for the motions which covers a large distence on the surface of earth. Coriolis
force affect airflow(wind) in atmosphere and waterstreames in oceans. It is also
obseved that right banks of rivers in northern are steeper compared to the left
and vice versa in souther hemispheredue as the effect of these coriolis force.

Kepler’s laws of planetary motion

In astronomy Kepler’s laws give a description of the motion of planets around
the sun. Kepler put forward three laws regarding the motion of planets.Kepler’s
laws are:

Figure 9: Elliptical path of planets with F1 and F2 being the focuses

1. The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two
focus.

2. A linejoining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal
intervals of time(areal velocity of the planet is a constant).

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 3. The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to
the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.

Figure 10: Path of planets

Aphelion & Perihelion

These are the two points on the elliptical orbit arround the sun through which
planets aremoving. The aphelion is the point in the elliptical orbit of a planet
where it is farthest from the sun. . The point in orbit where a planet is nearest
to the sun is called the perihelion. The word aphelion derives from the Greek
prefix ”apo” (meaning ”away, off, apart”) and ”Helios” (the Greek mythical god
of the sun).

Figure 11: Path of sattellites

Apogee & Perigee

These are the two points on the elliptical orbit arround the earth through which
moon and sattellites are moving. The apogee is the point in the elliptical orbit
arround earth which is farthest from the earth. The point in orbit which is
nearest to the earth is called the perigee.

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