Essays on Astronomy

Falsifiability refers to the logical possibility that certain physical experiments or observations can prove particular assertions to be untrue. If an assertion is false based on observations or given tests then it is falsifiable. This does not necessarily mean that the assertion is false but rather that its falsehood can be proven. For instance, is a claim is made to the effect that ‘no humans live forever’ one cannot prove it to be untrue. This is because to prove that the truthfulness or otherwise of the statement, one would need to observe a human that lives forever in order Continue reading...

Pluto was discovered only in 1930 and has been considered a planet for many decades, and its demotion has caused a lot of debates both in scientific circles and in general public. The process of demotion conducted by the International Astronomical Union was seen by many as unfair because the number of voters was deemed too small to take a final decision on such a controversial issue, especially that some suggestions that did not pass were supported by nearly a half of the voters (Plait, 2006). While many scientists view the planetary status of Pluto as a part of Continue reading...

Astronomy

Astronomy is a vital branch of science that has been with us for the longest time. This form deals with the observation and scientific study of bodies such as; stars, galaxies, the planets and comets. This history of the study can be dated back to places such as Babylon, Greece and other early civilized worlds. In the present day, astronomy has narrowed down to astrophysics as compared to astronomy in early civilization that was broad and included calendar making and celestial navigation (Bodo 2001 p 7). Through these early studies, the notion that the earth was the main centre Continue reading...

A telescope is a device that makes it possible to view distant and faint objects as though they were near (Telescope, 2009). The discovery of the telescope and subsequent improvement in technology has gone a long way to transforming the way we view the universe. Telescope helps in viewing distant planets, stars, and heavenly bodies. To understand the mechanisms of operation of a radio telescope, it is important to initiate by taking a look at its discovery as well as the events that potentially led to the discovery. The essay will take a look at how the discovery and Continue reading...

The Pantheon is one of the most recognizable ancient buildings in Rome, Italy. The building has stood for thousands of years and was constructed under the rule of Emperor Augustus. The name comes from for two Greek words. The first is “pan” which translates to everything. The second is “teon” that essentially translates to divine. The Pantheon was constructed in 126 AD. The architects of this phenomenal building were Marcus Agrippa, who was assisted by Apollodorus of Damascus. The Pantheon has often received wide praise and acclaim for its architectural design as well as its concept of space. It Continue reading...

Looking up to the sky has been one of the most important activities of humans. Early civilizations are finding answers to their theological principles in the stars while others look guidance as they travel (Rosenburg & Russo, np). Astronomy is a vital part for the foundation of the religious beliefs and concepts of most of the early civilization. They view astronomy as a tool or as a backbone to their religious, social and cultural beliefs (Sprajc 87). Curiosity and hunger for knowledge have been the fuel for mankind to search answers in space. The significance of astronomy to life could Continue reading...

Biography of Archimedes

Archimedes was born in 287 BC in Syracuse on the island of Sicily. His father Phidias, was astronomer and mathematician; He provided him education in sciences. Archimedes had his studies in Alexandria. Archimedes met the famous astronomer Conon, the astronomer and mathematician Eratosthenes, with whom he maintained in the future scientific correspondence. He worked in a library where he studied Democritus, Eudoxus and other scientists.
Archimedes later published several works in mathematics. His work consists of providing the areas of figures bounded by the curves and volumes of bodies bounded by arbitrary planes. He is the one of the Continue reading...

For a long time, people believed that the earth was the center of the universe. This was until Nicolaus Copernicus radically transformed the traditional astronomical model of the universe. Born on 19 February 1473, Nicolaus was a polish astronomer who changed the perception in the nature of the universe. He came up with a working hypothesis that demonstrated that the sun was the center of the universe. The scientific and religious community treated the hypothesis of Nicolaus Copernicus with rejection because it disputed other hypotheses considered valid. These included the Aristotle and Ptolemy’s geocentric astronomical models that placed Continue reading...

Question 2: Why is useful to think of 'Sciences' in the plural rather than of 'Science' as a singular enterprise?

Since the beginning of scientific inventions, a number of new scientific disciplines have emerged. These include disciplines like systems ecology. With an emergence of such disciplines, researchers have overwhelmingly been faced with highly complex issues that tend to defy the generalization of science as a single discipline (Ede and Cormack, 19). According to historical documentary analysis, science is a discipline that became diversified into different approaches since the beginning of 1950s. In many schools today, there are a number of departments where scholars deal with a specified branch of science. In addition, there has also been an emergence of Continue reading...

Newton`s contribution to physics

Newton studied all the basic questions of physics and mathematics relevant to his time. Mighty apparatus of Newton`s mechanics, its versatility and ability to explain and describe a wide range of natural phenomena, especially astronomical, had a tremendous impact on many areas of physics and chemistry. “His study and understanding of light, the invention of the reflecting telescope (1668), and his revelation in his Principia of the mathematical ordering of the universe are all represented on his monument in Westminster Abbey” (“Sir Isaac Newton”).
Newton's influence on the further development of physics is enormous. Nowadays all scholars think Continue reading...

At what level were women participating in the sciences (e.g., physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, engineering, etc.) in the 18th and 19th centuries
The question about the role and contribution of women in science has been a key research question in many studies. Women in sciences have also evolved into being a course that one can take at a university level. It is an important question to understand the role of women in science in 18th and 19th century. The most import thing to understand what as the significant contribution that women played during the two centuries. This research looks Continue reading...

Part 1

Principle of physical science is the procedure and the concepts employed by the people who study the inorganic world. There are challenges that come up when the scientists try to measure the organic world. One of the challenges that the scientists face when trying to measure the organic world is because some of the things are God created and there is no measure that can be applied. For example it becomes extremely hard for an astronomer to try and count the number of stars in the sky or the difference in distance between one star and the other. The Continue reading...

What is IR?

IR or infrared is an electromagnetic radiation, one of radiations of light. This radiation has the longest wavelength in comparison with other visible light waves and less in comparison with radio waves, starting from the red edge of visible light up to 1mm. Due to the fact that infrared has the longest wavelength it contains the most thermal energy. Approximately more than half of the thermal energy from sun is received in form of infrared radiations, therefore the balance in emitted and absorbed radiations has great role in earth’s climate.

What is UV?

UV or Ultraviolet is also one of the Continue reading...

Chapter 4: The Origin of Modern Astronomy (Summary & Reflection)

Chapter 4 of “Astronomy: The Solar System and Beyond” starts with a description of the geocentric view that that the Early Greeks held of the universe. It was Aristotle’s conclusion that the Earth is spherical in shape. In A.D. 140, the Ptolemaic system, a more refined form of the Greeks’ geocentric view, was presented by Claudius Ptolemy. According to Ptolemy, the planets orbited the Earth in epicycles or small circles. It was Nicolaus Copernicus who proposed that the sun is at the center of the universe and the plants orbit around it. Tycho Brahe made the most precise Continue reading...

Book VII - On Shadows and Realities in Education

SOCRATES - GLAUCON
AND now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: --Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a Continue reading...

The epigraph mentioned in the question has been taken from the journal The Medieval Church Encounters the Classical Tradition. This blame on medieval ages is most often credited to the Christian Churches for throwing away the minute sparks of science and other creative activities.
However, the conformation of the scholars to this fact has proved to be a major hindrance to the real understanding of the medieval ages. It cannot be denied that the middle ages were the times of political and social turmoil and saw a steep decline in the fields of learning and literacy. But, it is Continue reading...

Abstract

The study investigates different aspects of the Mirphak star. The Introductory section explains that the star occurs in the Perseus constellation and is the brightest star in the night sky above the Northern horizon. The paper has a section that describes the various names and myths linked to the star. Moreover, the paper traces a Greek’s mythical story that gave the constellation its name. Under the section on properties and position of the star, the study examines the changing coordinates of Mirphak. As a result, it outlines the star’s coordinates in J2000 and J1900. Other features examined Continue reading...

The Copernican revolution is a paradigm shift from the Ptolemaic model of the universe that has postulated that the Earth is the center of the universe, a heliocentric model with the Sun at the center of our solar system. This event was one of the starting points of the beginning of the scientific revolution of the XVI century. Copernican theory was tantamount to a revolutionary restructuring not only in astronomy and science, but also in the methods of scientific research and knowledge. It has led to radical changes in the way of thinking of scientists, turning it from conventional Continue reading...

Throughout my formative years in elementary, middle school, and high school; Galileo Galilei’s name became known in both history and science books as the man who developed the telescope. At first, I thought his invention of the telescope earned him the title “Father of Modern Astronomy” due to the telescope’s capacity to augment celestial bodies without any visual strain to the user. While my conviction to Galileo Galilei’s expertise remained firm as I entered tertiary years, the Dan Brown novel entitled “Angels and Demons” challenged my ideas over the Italian scientist. In the movie, Galileo was Continue reading...

Indication of the Research Topic

The existence of multiple fields of sciences and social movements discovered from each other. The inception of Qing and the end of Ming Dynasty, the major media for technical and civilizing trade from east to west and vice-versa were the Jesuit patres living at the majestic court in Beijing. Jesuits elaborated to the elite class of Chinese, the technical discoveries made in Europe in the previous decade including astronomical tool and watches, they received the impression of above average benchmark of Chinese medicine and, land surveying. The technically enhanced objects including a push cart with a sail, magnetism, suspension-bridges Continue reading...

The origins of word ‘astrology’ lies in the Latin word ‘astrologia’ which means ‘account of the stars’ (Harper). The advocates of Astrology attempted to define astrology as the form of symbolic language, a form of art, a science and a kind of method of divination (Dietrich, p.305). Astrology can be defined as the study of the relationship between the positions and movements of the stars and other celestial bodies and the life which is present on the Earth. The Astrology is based on the assumption that there exists a positive correlation between the astronomical phenomena and events that take Continue reading...

Abstract

Ever since the understanding of the phenomenon of the Big Bang, scientists have put I all their energies to understand the functioning of all the objects that make our universe. While most of these objects can be seen and observed, Black Holes make for a mystery much difficult to discern. Nevertheless, after years of hard work and energy, scientists and astronomers have managed to establish certain facets of black holes. One of the most important discovery in this respect has been the relationship between Black Holes and the Galaxies. It has now become an established fact that most galaxies, Continue reading...

The “Astronomer’s Wife” is a story about a psychologically depressed woman by the name Mrs. Ames, who lives with an arrogant husband who mistreated her a lot. She decides to seek happiness elsewhere by engaging in conversation with the plumber who comes to repair the leaks in her house.
In this story some words, phrases and images have been used and they have certain functions in the development of the story. The Boyle’s phrases in “The Astronomer’s Wife” such as “to survive women cling on the tide” (pg59) this shows how women were depressed and undervalued, Continue reading...

Introduction

The Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer) is an infrared observatory gadget and program that was launched into the earth’s orbit on 25th August 2003 at 13:35:39 UTC-5 (Romana et al. 2). The telescope was a milestone in astronomy as it is specifically used to study the creation of the universe, creation and advancement of primordial galaxies, chemical evolution of galaxies, and origin of stars and planets (Romana et al. 2). The set up has an 85cm Ritchey-Chretien telescope that is cryogenically cooled and operating at temperatures that are as low as 5.5K. The Continue reading...

Introduction

A black hole is a region in space-time, the gravitational attraction which is so large that it can not leave even objects moving at the speed of light, including photons of light itself. The boundary of this region is called the event horizon, and its characteristic dimension - the gravitational radius. In the simplest case of a spherically symmetric black hole Schwarzschild radius is equal to it.
Theoretically, the possible existence of such regions of space-time should be of some exact solutions of Einstein's equations, the first of which was obtained by Karl Schwarzschild in 1915. The exact inventor Continue reading...

Mesopotamia refers to the area near the Euphrates and Tigris river system, which corresponds to modern day Kuwait, Iraq, the northeastern part of Syria, the Southeastern part of Turkey and a small part of southwestern Iran (Potts, 2012, pg.557). In a wider sense, Mesopotamia refers to the area surrounded from the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and from the southwest by the edge of the Arabian Plateau and stretches from the Persian Gulf in the southeastern side to the spurs of the Anti-Taurus Mountains in the northwestern side. The Sumerians, Babylonians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans occupied Mesopotamia region. This Continue reading...

Introduction and biographical information: The poet Adrienne Rich was an intellectual and poet whose work life spanned about 70 years. She began as an award-winning formal writer of lyric poetry and published as early as 1951. In the 1960s and 1970s she changed her style to feminist free verse poetry. She addressed political issues. She had married into the traditional wife and mother roles while at the same time being an intellectual. She and her husband separated and then he died in 1970. Rich was faced with being a single parent to her three sons. Rich’s poetry reflected Continue reading...

Introduction to gamma-ray bursts

The universe is made up of many objects some of which scientists have managed to discover while others are yet to be discovered. Gamma-ray bursts form the highest and most complicated cosmic events present in the universe. These are high-energy explosions discovered during the cold war by astronomers. The discovery was made after the United States suspected the soviets could test nuclear weapons in space. They installed satellites in the space that detected gamma-ray flashes. It was until 1997 when astronomers discovered that gamma-ray bursts are caused by explosions of young energetic stars found in the distant galaxies. These Continue reading...

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Introduction
Euclid (near 365 - 300 BC) is a Greek mathematician, lived in Alexandria, in the 3rd BC. The main work "Elements" (15 books), containing the basics of ancient mathematics, elementary geometry, number theory, the general theory of relations and the method of determining areas and volumes, which included elements of the theory of limits, has had an enormous influence on the development of mathematics. He worked on astronomy, optics, music theory.
Information about the time and place of his birth did not reach us, but we know that Euclid lived Continue reading...

The short story “Astronomer’s Wife” written by Kay Boyle, tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Ames, a young couple, married in their late twenties. The writer paints a picture of the couple living in surroundings where the landscape is beautiful and tranquil. The place is a perfect picture of romance but there was none shared between the two. The husband who is an astronomer loves his job more than his wife. He has her cleaning and washing and taking care of the house. She is like an old maid, tired and haggard and does not know what Continue reading...

The Islamic Golden Age is a historical time that lasted before the 1258. It is an Abbasid period in existence before the Mongolian invasion and conquest of Baghdad. Islamic Historians trace the beginning of the period to the 8th century. It lasted between Muhammad’s eras in 700 AD to 1200 AD. It is one of the most important periods in the Islamic history in which developments during the period brought about an Islamic Renaissance and contributions to the uncivilized period. The Abbasid Caliphate (Muslim religious leaders and a succession of the prophet) ruled over the Muslim subjects in Baghdad, a new capital shift from the original one in Damascus. Continue reading...

(Student’s Full Name)
Questions Related to Ann Beattie’s “Janus,” Kay Boyle’s “Astronomer’s Wife,” and Irwin Shaw’s “The Girls in their Summer Dresses”
- What did Katherine Ames know that was “true” as referenced in the story's ending: “‘Oh,’ said the astronomer's wife in wonder as she stepped into the heart of the earth. She took his arm, knowing that what he said was true” (168).What do Katherine's red slippers suggest about her intentions?'
One the surface, what Katherine is referring to as being “true” is the story that the plumber is telling to Continue reading...

Abstract

Ranked among the top 7 heritage sites around the world by UNESCO, Stonehenge is one of the most picturesque marvels of the medieval world. Standing isolated in Wiltshire, England, the prehistoric monument has been a destination for well over 800,000 tourists from all over the world every year. With many theories surrounding its construction and purpose, architects and archeologists have put their minds together in trying to come up with a scientifically acceptable explanation of the monument’s coming into being. Today, many questions surround Stonehenge, with hundreds of documentaries giving different accounts, and crediting different people for Continue reading...

During the early years of the 14th century, most of the western civilizations are active in spreading their Christian faith. They have travel half way across the globe in order to fulfill their religious duties as well as expand their political territories. Religion has been powerful during this time and anyone who opposes their beliefs is commonly punished (Henry 3). However, there are also some who are taking the odds against religion and looking up into the sky for answers about the cosmos and other realities of life. These people are the creators and initiators of the modern science Continue reading...

Abstract

Ranked among the top 7 heritage sites around the world by UNESCO, Stonehenge is one of the most picturesque marvels of the medieval world. Standing isolated in Wiltshire, England, the prehistoric monument has been a destination for well over 800,000 tourists from all over the world every year. With many theories surrounding its construction and purpose, architects and archeologists have put their minds together in trying to come up with a scientifically acceptable explanation of the monument’s coming into being. Today, many questions surround Stonehenge, with hundreds of documentaries giving different accounts, and crediting different people for Continue reading...

The rock artists of Australia were drawing the dreamtime long before they had a word for art or long before the first Westerner arrived there. The dreamtime for the indigenous people of Australia is their story of creation. Their beliefs are reflected in the ancient paintings on rock. The aboriginal are believed to have occupied Australia for at least forty thousand or even maybe hundred thousand years, which makes them the “oldest continuous human culture on the planet” (Rock Art). Their art is a primitive history book and guide for living (Rock Art). Seasons played crucial role in their Continue reading...

Alexander III of Macedon or Alexander the Great, the mighty king of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire was born on July, 356 B.C. to Philip II, the King of Macedon, and Olympias, the princess of Epirus. Long before becoming a young, but already great military leader, who has not only united the Greek states, but also subdued numerous peoples of the East and South, thus, rightfully gaining the name of the King of Babylon, King of Asia, King of the Four Quarters of the World, Alexander received a profound education from the philosopher Aristotle, who is nowadays Continue reading...

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) is one of the most prominent philosophers of the twentieth century. His philosophy influenced not only the various sections of philosophical knowledge, thereby extending its reach and scope, but also the development of such sciences as logic, mathematics, linguistics, the list of which is not complete. Moreover, if the twentieth century largely passed under the sign of the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche, in Wittgenstein's philosophy this century got its most profound understanding. It is all the more ironic that the philosopher did not leave a special essay on social philosophy and philosophy of Continue reading...

When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom’d

The Poem entitled “When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom’d” is Walt Whitman’s romanticized story of an American leader during a trying time. In his poem, he shows the audience his own meaning of democracy as well as racial equality. His poem speaks of Abraham Lincoln as the one who brought about racial equality in a land that was being tried. This was during the time of national disagreement, when their great leader fought for equality and abolitionism. This was the most prominent theme seen in Whitman’s work here.
He speaks to the deceased president about Continue reading...

1086F Origin and Geology of the Solar System

- Introduction
An exoplanet is a term used to describe a planet that is located outside the solar system that includes the Earth (exoplanet, 2013). Astronomer Peter van Kamp made the first announcement of the discovery of an exoplanet in 1963, however, that discovery failed to hold up over time and now has been conclusively disproved (Matson, 2013). The first exoplanet discovery that has stood the test of time was the discovery of two bodies orbiting a neutron star in a system named PSR 1257+12 (Wolszczan and Frail, 1992). Wolszczan and Frail calculated that the masses of these Continue reading...