History+of+Astronomy

//Edited Fall 2012//
There are many important people and discoveries that contribute to the information we know on astronomy today. For example, the Stonehenge was built in about 2000 B.C. that was used as a type of calendar. Another example that shows what we learned from the past is important today is Kepler and his three laws of planetary motion that are still used. Each different region contributed in their own ways like, the Aztec calendar. There were also many different astronomers to contributed or discovered something new in this field: such as Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo. Even though some of these astronomers’ ideas were wrong, they still developed new theories until the right answers were found. //“Astronomy is written for astronomers. To them my work too will seem, unless I am mistaken, to make some contribution.” // // -Nicolaus Copernicus, 1543 //



Website: Maya Astronomy URL: [] Author: Unknown, Private small organization Last Updated: January 28, 2011 Date Reviewed: December 2, 2012 Reviewed by: Emily Dumford Accuracy: The information on this website seems to be accurate and as up-to-date on the Mayan calendar and Mayan documents as we know. Readability: The audience for this website would be college students, teachers, or people that study the Mayan culture. This website uses some Mayan language that isn’t always described or explained. It is not very easy to read unless you know some of the Mayan language or astronomy terms. Navigation: There is other links on this website to other Mayan discovery, but they do not have any other history of astronomy. Rating: I would give this website a 6 because it does clear show what the Mayan society did discover about astronomy but it does not discuss how they might have discovered these things with the limited technology they had.

Website: Astronomy for Kids Online URL: [] Author: Jarrod Roby Last Updated: Unknown, Copyright 2005-2009 Date Reviewed: December 3, 2012 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Reviewed By: Emily Dumford <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Accuracy: The information sounds like it is true but there are no reliable sources on where the information came from. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Readability: This website is made for children probably about 10 years and older. It is easy to read and would be easy for children to read and understand. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Navigation: This cite is easy to navigate and find more information. There are links to information on many ancient societies such as Greek, Mayan, Egyptian, Chinese, etc. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Rating: I would give this website a 9 because it includes the history of astronomy for many different cultures and their contributions to astronomy.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Website: The American Association of Amateur Astronomers <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">URL: [] <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Author: Unknown <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Last Updated: Unknown, Copyright Date 1996-2006 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date Reviewed: December 3, 2012 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Reviewed By: Emily Dumford <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Accuracy: All information seems accurate and up to date, but there is no last modified dated or even an author’s name. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Readability: The audience would be college students or anyone studying astronomy. It is easy to read and straight to the point. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Navigation: This website is easy to use and easy to find more information on the history of astronomy. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Rating: I would give this website an 8 because it is sorted by astronomers and includes important information and discoveries from a few common astronomers.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Website: History of Astronomy- Ancient China <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">URL: [] <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Author: Unknown <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Last Updated: Unknown, Copyright 2003-2004 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date Reviewed: December 3, 2012 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Reviewed By: Emily Dumford <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Accuracy: All information seems to be clear and up to date, but I don’t think this website is that reliable because there is no author or date updated. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Readability: The audience would most likely be a high school or college student who wants information on the History of the ancient Chinese astronomy. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Navigation: There are not many other web pages to visit from this site. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Rating: If I had to rate this website I would give it a 5 because I feel like there could be more information on the ancient Chinese and how they learned or discovered astronomy and how their contributions are used today.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Website: Astronomy throughout History <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">URL: [] <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Author: Unknown <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Last Updated: Unknown <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date Reviewed: December 4, 2012 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Reviewed By: Emily Dumford <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Accuracy: The information seems to be accurate but there is no resources, author, and date which makes this website questionable. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Readability: This website is easy to read and separated into different categories, for example, astronomers, places, and the time period. The audience would most likely be middle school, high school, or college student. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Navigation: There are no other links or other information from this page making it easy to navigate on this one page only. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Rating: If I had to rate this webpage I would give it a 5 because it is easy to find the information you are looked for, but there is no author or other links to the page making the information questionable.


 * //__History of Astronomy__//**

LMC 2011
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The History of Astronomy The history of space exploration starts at about this time. In 1926, an American scientist named Robert H. Goddard built and flew the first successful liquid propelled rocket. By 1930, groups were being formed which experimented with rockets and by the early 1940s, the United States and the Soviet Union were both researching high altitude rockets. On July 20, 1969 when Apollo 11 successfully landed on the moon and Americans Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. The United States sent a total of 12 men to the moon, the last being Eugene Cernan on the Apollo 17 mission on December 14, 1972. No human has walked on the moon since. The Soviets never made it to the moon.

Website: The History of Astronomy URL: __ [] __ Author: Unknown, Think Quest webpage Last Updated: Unknown, Copyright 1999 Date Reviewed: 2011 Reviewed By: Imran Mohammad Accuracy: All information seems to be correct but there is no author. Readability: The audience is middle school or high school students. Navigation: No other websites are linked to this page. Rating: This site is really good because it tell you the information from beginning thought end, it starts from Early Astronomers then ends with Human Exploration.

Website: Johannes Kelper: The Laws of Planetary Motion URL: [|Three Laws of Planetary Motion] Author: Unknown Last Updated: Unknown Date Reviewed: 2011 Reviewed By: Imran Mohammad Accuracy: All information seems to be correct but there is no author or last updated date. Readability: The audience is a middle school or high school student, it is very easy to read. Navigation: Easy to navigate with many other links to view. Rating: I really like this website because it talks a lot about the past of astronomy. They tell you how astronomy began how it advanced it idea through the solar system. They talk about Kepler and his three laws of Planetary Motion which, for the first time correctly described the way the planets move through the Solar System.

Spring 2009
Hi, my name is Corey McLaughlin and I am in Mr. Adkins astronomy class at LMC. My wikispace page will be dedicated to the History of Astronomy. Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences in the world and quite frankly it is easy to imagine why. People in ancient times must have been fascinated with what they saw in the sky because it was so natural and so much bigger than them. People began to question how and why we have night and day or just what those twinkling spots in the night sky are. Back then natural phenomena such as comets, eclipses, or meteors were believed to be the warning of god, whether good or bad, and that was all the explanation that anyone needed. The world has come a long way since those pre-modern times and today almost every aspect of space can be logically explained. You might find these next websites helpful in continuing to expand your knowledge in this critical area along with my take and grade on each website itself.

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 * Title:** Astronomy History Links Page
 * Author:** Kathy Zendner
 * Date Read:** 4/13/2009
 * Intended Audience:** High School/ College
 * Rating:** 10

Overall this is a great website that covers all people in the history of astronomy. It also talks about some of the first stone hangs that have been found all around the world. First talking about America's Stone Henge. It gives you a little history on the people that have influenced astronomy. Then you are given about one hundred other links that send you to another website full of great information. There are not many pictures because this website is more about the information and leading you to more great information. This is a great website for kids in high school. It's really easy to understand and even well for college students if you want an easy read and not a lot of detail.

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 * Title:** Ancient Astronomy
 * Author:** Unknown
 * Date Read:** 4/25/09
 * Intended Audience:** High School/ Middle School
 * Rating:** 10

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: initial;">Really like this website. I give it a ten because you can really check out the history of astronomy from all around the world. On the home page there is a small index that leads you to interactive tours and photos. The best part of this website though is the Interactive Atlas that is on the home page if you scroll down a little bit. This website isn't only about history but current knowledge of astronomy. So on the atlas you can click on a continent like Oceania for example. You can then choose from the Pacific Islands or Australia. I am going to pick Australia. It then tells me all about the universe of the Aborigines and what they thought of our universe. So this website will tell you about the ancient civilizations of a continent and what they thought of our universe and what to make of it. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: initial;">

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 * Title:** Astronomy Throughout History
 * Author:**Unknown
 * Date Read:** 4/25/09
 * Intended Audience:** Middle School/High School
 * Rating:** 9

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: initial;">This is a really good website for kids in Middle School or High School. It has a setting which you can change from beginner to intermediate and even to advance depending on age level or grade. The reading gets more difficult in advanced but nothing that a high schooled couldn't comprehend. In beginner there is less to read and the text is a lot larger. It is also very easy to comprehend. There are three icons at the bottom of the page. You can either select Journey through time, Journey by Region, or Meet the people involved. Journey through time gives you a very long timeline to follow. Overall it is a very detailed website that I would recommend.

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 * Title**: A Brief History of Astronomy
 * Author**: Gene Smith
 * Date** **Read**: 12/2/08
 * Intended Audienc****e**: High School/College
 * Rating**: 9.5 of 10

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: initial;">This is a great all around site. It is all on one page and contains an immense amount of information. The countless links it contains are what set it apart. It allows you to click on many topics that it is explaining, which will take you to a web page devoted to explaining that topic in much greater detail. It contains and explains lots of information about the early study of astronomy and gives brief biographies on many important major astronomers including their specific contributions to the science. It gives a broad summary of why Stonehenge was important as well as how it works. There are explanations of how the primitive study of astronomy changed, and in a way, made life easier for early humans. There many pictures, maps, and diagrams too those help make the site more friendly-looking. One of the only bad things that I can say about the site is that the text is a little too small and is bunched up at times making navigation more difficult than it should be.

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 * Title**: History of Astronomy
 * Author**: Chris Lawton
 * Date** **Read**: 12/2/08
 * Intended** **Audience**: College
 * Rating**: 8 of 10

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: initial;">I thought that this site was very interesting. It basically lays out the entire astronomical history in essay form from 3000 BC to present with lots of interesting facts and examples. The good thing about this site is that it "intertwines" or connects all the different theories from astronomers from the past. It explains how each astronomer used the information of his predecessor to make new and improved discoveries eventually leading to the facts and common sense that we all share today. It also contains (which I think is quite humorous) the story of how Tycho Brahe lost his nose in a duel and had a replacement nose made out of gold, silver, and wax. This isn't a great site as far as attaining wanted information quickly but if you have time and want to learn about this topic in a story book kind of way then this site is for you.

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 * Title**: The History of Astronomy
 * Author**: Unknown
 * Date** **Read**: 12/4/08
 * Intended** **Audience**: Highschool/College
 * Rating**: 8.5 of10

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: initial;">There isn't too much to this site as far as the sites informational purpose goes. All there is a short, extremely vague summary of the history of astronomy, as well as some major names and discoveries, but what this site has that none of the other sites has is its question and answer format near the bottom of the page. It contains a wide range of questions (some are extremely interesting) and detailed answers that were all anonymous submitted by public viewers to the site. To make it even easier the questions are all labeled beginner, intermediate, or advanced so you know exactly what kind of information you will be viewing. What else is cool about this site is that you can submit your own questions and have them answered on the site. The site is easy to navigate and very organized, and it is different from most of the other sites because it aims at answering confusing questions that it is safe to say that many people have rather than just spitting out plain, boring information.

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 * Title**: Astronomy Timeline
 * Author**: Randy Russell
 * Date** **Read**: 12/4/08
 * Intended** **Audience**: All Ages
 * Rating**: 8 of 10

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: initial;">This site serves as a huge timeline documenting every discovery or point in time when important events took place. It starts off with the Big Bang which happened between 13 billion to 20 billion years ago and ends with the discovery of water on Mars in the year 2000. There are so many important points in time and discoveries that I wasn't even aware of and it's really cool to be able to see some of them. What else is real helpful about this site is that it allows you to switch the setting from beginner to intermediate, where it opens up much more information, to even intermediate, where it shows everything even the smallest contributions. This site also has many links that help expand on words or topics of particular importance. The site has easy navigation and all the information you would ever need if you are in search for facts and dates on the history of astronomy.

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Website: __**History of Astronomy**__ URL: [|http://www.historyofastronomy.org] Author: Unknown, site maintained by Clive Ruggles Last Updated: August 29, 2012 Date Reviewed: November 2009 Reviewed By: Rebekah Nunn Accuracy: This site is kept pretty up to date. Readability: Easy to read, audience for high school or college student level. Navigation: Easy to navigate with many other links to view. Rating: There are different pages for historical instruments, how astronomy got started, and newsletters. I think there could be more information, but there is enough here to get the basics covered.

Website: __KryssTal: History of Astronomy__ URL: [] Author: Unknown Last Updated: Unknown, Copyright 2002, 2009 Date Reviewed: November 2009 Reviewed By: Rebekah Nunn Accuracy: All information seems to be correct but there is no author. Readability: The audience for this website is probably elementary school or middle school students. Navigation: There are many different links to pages on this site. It also has external links. Rating: It talks about the history of astronomy from around the world, not just from the U.S. The text is easy to understand and it gives a lot of information that isn't overwhelming. Overall this is a great website to look for information on the history of astronomy, as well as other topics.

Website: History of Astronomy URL: [] Author: Unknown Last Updated: Unknown Date Reviewed: November 2009 Reviewed By: Rebekah Nunn Accuracy: All information seems to be correct and accurate. The site is made from a school to learn information before quizzes. Readability: The audience for this website would be college student. Navigation: Easy to navigate with other links to view. Rating: This site has a lot of information about the beginnings of astronomy. Unfortunately, some of the text and examples is difficult to understand. It's readable, but some of the examples can be a little confusing. There are images of early explanations of astronomical happenings and examples of how they came to conclusions about the heliocentric theory and the geocentric theory. This site shows more of the ancient ideas, instead of also progressing into today's ideas.