PHYSICAL SCIENCE

QUARTER 4-WEEK 2
ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION
OBJECTIVES :

1. ENUMERATE THE KNOWN ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA TO ANCIENT PEOPLE.

2. DISCUSS THE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE NOTABLE ASTRONOMERS IN

MODERN ASTRONOMY .

3. DESCRIBE THE CONTRIBUTION OF BRAHE AND KEPLER TO THE DISCOVERY OF

PLANETARY MOTION
UNLOCKING THE DIFFICULTIES:

ASTRONOMY is the study of everything in the universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere. That includes
objects we can see with our naked eyes, like the Sun, the Moon, the Planets, and the stars.

Ever wondered what is beyond our planet Earth? When you look at the sky have you ever think
what is up there. As you observed the sky, think about the different phenomena. Solar eclipse, lunar eclipse,
phases of the moon, the mtion of stars, visibility of planets; these astronomical phenomena that are already
known before the invention of the telescope. How are the planets discovered and how do they move?

For thousand of years, humans have looked at the night sky and wondered about the stars. With only the
unaided eye, they neither saw nor dreamed that the stars are greater in number than all the grains of sand on
all the beaches of the world! Nor did they realize that the sun is a star - simply the nearest star to us in the
universe.

Probably the most fascinating was the moon, which when full was perceived as a flat circular disk rather as a
three- dimensional sphere we know it to be.
Solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, phases of
the moon, the motion of stars, and
visibility of planets; these
astronomical phenomena are already
known before the invention of the
telescope.
 Astronomical Phenomena known to astronomers before the advent of telescope
During ancient times, even before Hans Lippershey invented the telescope, astronomical phenomena are already
being observed and known by the people.

Ancient people can see planets without using a telescope by observing the sky before sunrise and after sunset.
The planets that are invisible during thse times are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

Gnomon, a primitive sundial used by Babylion and Egyptian civilizations to systematically observe the motion of
the sun. They were able to record the points where the sun rises and sets depending on the season.

Phases of the moon, ancient people have observed that the moon changes its path and its appearance within 29.5 days. They
observed that the moon changes its appearance from a thin semi-circular disk to a full circular disk. These phases of the moon are the
basis of ancient calendars.

They also noticed that there are times when the moon or part of it seemed to covered by the shadow for a moment.

*Lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts its shadow on the moon when the Earth is between the sun and the moon. A Phenomenon
such as this i known as a lunar eclipse. Wherein the moon changes into a dark or blood red color.

*Solar Eclipse occurs when the moon is in between the Sun and the Earth and the moon partially or completely blocks out the sun
*Motion of the stars The stars appear to be attached to a celestial sphere that rotates
around an axis in one day. This axis intersects the celestial sphere at apoint in the northern sky and is presently
close to the northern star, Polaris. Also, the constellations’ position in the night sky vary depending on the time
of the year.

*Visibility of planets, Astronomers have discovered that Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are planets
because they have noticed that the stars are in a fixed position concerning each other ( like how constellations
are always grouped). But there are very bright stars that change positions periodically. These ‘’stars’’ do not
belong to any group of constellations in the sky. Thus, they are called ‘’ Wanderers’’ or planets in Gree terms.

Even before the invention of the telescope, ancient people have already observed different astronomical
phenomena. The most observable objects in the sky are the sun and moon. Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations
used primitive version of a sundial, called a gnomon, in systematically observing the motion of the sun. By
looking at the shadows that the gnomon casts, they were able to observe than the sun rises in the eastern par of
the sjy, reaches its highest point in midday, and sets in the western part of the sky.

The points where the sun rises and sets on the horizon varies a year and this happen periodically. This variations
are related to weather and so concluded that seasonal changes in climate happen for one year.
THE OBSERVATION OF TYCHO BRAHE

As we have noted, Modern astronomy is built on the interplay between quantitative observations and
testable theories that attempt to account for those observations logically and mathematically. A
crucial ingredient in the copernican revolution was the acquisition of more precise data on the
motions of objects on the celestial sphere.

After 14 centuries since Ptolemy, five noted scientists made important discoveries that gave rise to the
birth of modern astronomy.

* Nicolaus Copernicus
* Tycho brahe
* Johannes Kepler
* Galileo Galilei
* Isaac Newton
TYCHO BRAHE ( 1546-1601), Danish astronomer whose work in developing
astronomical instruments and in measuring and fixing the positions of stars paved the
way for future discoveries. Before the invention of telescope he included a
comprehensive study of the solar system and accurate positions of more than 777
fixed stars. Particularly, Brahe compiled extensive data on the planet mars, which later
prove crucial to kepler in his formulation of the laws of planetary motion bacause it
would be sufficiently precise to demonstrate that the orbit of Mars was not a circle but
an ellipse.

JOHANNES KEPLER- When king frederick II died, and the successor dit not fully support brahe’s
work, he moved to prague in 1599 where he was supported by emperor Rudolf II and worked
as an imperial mathematician. Emperor Rudolf II recommend Johannes kepler to work for him
as an assistant. Kepler was born to a poor german family and studied as a scholar at the
university of Tubigan in 1589.
 Tycho Brahe fell out of a favor when a new king came to power in 1588 and moved to prague shortly after thereafter.
This is great historical significance because this move would eventually make brahe’s data available to kepler, who went to
prague also to become brahe’s assistant.

Brahe and Kepler’s Work

* Brahe and Kepler had an unsteadly relationship. Kepler was Brahe’s assistant. However, Brahe mistrusted kepler with
his astronomical data in fear of being shadowed by his assistant.

* Brahe asigned to kepler the interpretation of his observations Mars; whose movement did not match to brahe’s
calculations. Kepler was tasked to figure out. Many scientists believed that brahe gave this task to kepler to keep him
accupied and left brahe to develope this laws of planetary motion.

Kepler’s Discoveries from Brahe’s Data

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