Historical+Astronomy+Project-++Anna+Schultz

Anna Schultz 3  Historical Astronomy Project 4) How did the Aboriginal people describe the phases of the moon? How did astronomy impact their culture? - They described the moon as a thin young man (waxing crescent moon) who grew to be fat and lazy (full moon.) He broke laws and his people attacked him, resulting in his death (new moon.) After remaining dead for three days he rose again to repeat the cycle- and continues to this day.  - Astronomy impacts the aborigines culture because the moon is used as a calendar to tell when it is time to move to a new place.  7) Who was Eratosthenes and where did he live? How did he measure the circumference of earth? - He was a Greek mathematician, poet, athlete, geographer and astronomer. He lived in Cyrene and Alexandria. - He accurately measured the circumference of earth by ratio of sun’s altitude. He took the altitude of the sun in two different places on same day at same time. He then subtracted the difference, and knowing that earth was spherical, he reasoned a very accurate measurement. 10) List four facts about Tycho Brahe’s life. What did he do for astronomy? What did his celestial system look like? What earlier astronomers was it influenced by? - Tycho Brahe had a twin brother. Tycho Brahe claims to have been kidnapped by his uncle when he was two years old. Tycho Brahe lost his nose in a drunken duel. Tycho Brahe allegedly had a dwarf servant, and tamed an elk.  - His most important contribution to astronomy were his naked-eye measurements that were extremely accurate to this day.  - His celestial system model showed the Sun and Moon revolve around Earth, and all the other planets revolved around the Sun. His model came from Ptolemy and Copernicus.