Astronomy is a vast branch of physics whose study is a never-ending one! As far as we stay in this universe, the study of planets (astronomy) will continue to exist. The modern era has recorded some breakthrough innovations marked in the calendars as historical discovery events. The same was followed in ancient times when astronomers and scientists discovered objects and calculated theories based on their predictions and speculations. Here are some of the important events marked in the history of astronomy, which has helped scientists and astronomers worldwide create brake throughs.
The Big Bang Theory
The beginning of the universe is unknown. Even with the latest technologies, it is impossible to predict how it started. However, many scientists believe it began 13.7 billion years ago, with a massive explosion in space, now called the Big Bang Theory. The theory states that all the matter we see today was compressed into a tiny dot. Over time, the dot expanded into a massive explosion and created the universe we live in today.
The Heliocentric Model
This model was discovered by Copernicus in 1543 when he proposed that the Earth was at the center of the solar system and stated that all the planets, including the sun, revolved around it. Although his prediction was wrong, it gave humanity an idea of revolution and rotation.
The movement of stars and planets
The idea and the movement of rotation and revolution of the planets, as with billions of stars in the sky, was depicted thousands of years before the Mayan, Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, and Greek revolutions. Nevertheless, many scientists and early astronomers were involved in this discovery, and it is challenging to point just at one of them.
Herschel’s Map
It is believed that the telescope maker – William Herschel, along with his sister, discovered and mapped the heavens, which were composed of thousands of stars, and the formation of nebulae in the process, between 1780 and 1834. He also discovered Uranus and proposed another name, GeorgiumSidus, which could have probably saved centuries of terrible jokes.
Theory of Relativity
The famous scientist Albert Einstein proposed the theory of relativity in 1915. The theory states that mass has the ability to wrap both time and space. This means large masses like the stars have the capability to bend light in a specific direction.
Dark matter
Dark matter, which is different from dark energy, is a matter proposed to explain the gravitational effects and their movements within the galaxies. When scientists and astronomers measured the mass of galaxies and orbital speeds of the stars within a particular universe, they noticed differences between the expected and calculated results. This led to the discovery of dark matter, which cannot be detected presently with our instruments and technologies.