Post by Caroline Hale on Feb 3, 2009 21:19:46 GMT -5
Caroline walked quietly into her tower classroom, her face a blank mask. It was just a few minutes before class started, and yet no one was there yet. The classroom wasn't even locked, so there was no reason for any tardieness. Whoever was late, Carrie decided, would lose five housepoints... Per Person, that is.
She waved her wand as she passed the blackboard, and a long statement about Astoronomy appeared. Above it, she wrote, Copy this down in you notebooks NOW
Caroline sighed and sat down on her desk, waiting for the students to arrive. She had her specific seating plan, and intended to make sure everyone sat where they were supposed to. She would write the rules on the board later, when there was room.
She waved her wand as she passed the blackboard, and a long statement about Astoronomy appeared. Above it, she wrote, Copy this down in you notebooks NOW
Professor Caroline Hale
Introduction to Astronomy
Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, mythological, and astrological practices of pre-history: vestiges of these are still found in astrology, a discipline long interwoven with public and governmental astronomy, and not completely disentangled from it until a few centuries ago in the Western World (see astrology and astronomy). Early astronomy involved observing the regular patterns of the motions of visible celestial objects, especially the Sun, Moon, stars and naked eye planets. An example of this early astronomy might involve a study of the changing position of the Sun along the horizon or the changing appearances of stars in the course of the year, which could be used to establish an agricultural or ritual calendar. In some cultures astronomical data was used for astrological prognostication.
Ancient astronomers were able to differentiate between stars and planets, as stars remain relatively fixed over the centuries while planets will move an appreciable amount during a comparatively short time.
Early history
Early cultures identified celestial objects with gods and spirits. They related these objects (and their movements) to phenomena such as rain, drought, seasons, and tides. It is generally believed that the first "professional" astronomers were priests (such as the Magi), and that their understanding of the "heavens" was seen as "divine", hence astronomy's ancient connection to what is now called astrology. Ancient structures with possibly astronomical alignments (such as Stonehenge) probably fulfilled both astronomical and religious functions.
Calendars of the world have usually been set by the Sun and Moon (measuring the day, month and year), and were of importance to agricultural societies, in which the harvest depended on planting at the correct time of year. The most common modern calendar is based on the Roman calendar, which divided the year into twelve months of alternating thirty and thirty-one days apiece. In 46 BC Julius Caesar instigated calendar reform and adopted a calendar based upon the 365 1/4 day year length originally proposed by 4th century BC Greek astronomer Callippus.
The Bible contains a number of unsophisticated statements on the position of the Earth in to the universe and the nature of the stars and planets; see Biblical cosmology.
Caroline sighed and sat down on her desk, waiting for the students to arrive. She had her specific seating plan, and intended to make sure everyone sat where they were supposed to. She would write the rules on the board later, when there was room.