Astronomy from Prehistory to Galileo

Astronomy and humanitys interest in the sky are almost as old as the history of intelligent life on our planet. As civilizations formed and spread across the continents, their interest in the sky (and what its objects and motions meant) grew as observers kept records of what they saw. Not every record was in writing; some monuments and buildings were created with an eye toward a link with the sky. The pyramids in Egypt, for example, not only housed the remains of their Pharaohs, but some were also aligned with certain star patterns and stars. Nearly every culture had a connection to the sky. Everybody also saw their gods, goddesses, and other heroes and heroines reflected in the constellations. The motions of the Sun, Moon, and stars had ritual meaning, and many tales invented during the ancient epochs are still told today. This fascination with sky objects may date back tens of thousands of years, and some primitive art examples, such as the caves at Lascaux, France, have paintings that appear to show constellations and star patterns. Beyond the ritual and sacred perceptions of the sky, however, people were moving from a simple awe of the sky to an understanding of the motions of celestial objects. They used a connection between the sky and the seasons, and ways to use the sky to create calendars.  Ã‚   Early Neolithic people are thought to have built Stonehenge in England as a connection to the sky. It seems to have a link to Moonrise and Moonset times throughout the year. Orion Lawlor Using the Sky What most historians find quite interesting today is how humanity moved from merely charting and worshipping the sky to actually learning more about celestial objects and our place in the universe. Theres plenty of written evidence of their interest. For example, some of the earliest known charts of the sky date back to 2300 BCE and were created by the Chinese. They were avid skywatchers, and noted such things as comets, guest stars (which turned out to be novae or supernovae), and other sky phenomena.   The ecliptic is the path that the Sun, Moon and planets appear to follow in the sky throughout the year. The constellations that appear along the ecliptic are called the zodiac constellations. These had special meaning to early astrologers, who used them in rituals and to attempt to predict events. Carolyn Collins Petersen The Chinese werent the only early civilizations to keep track of the sky. The Babylonians first charts date back to a couple of thousand years BCE, and the Chaldeans were among the first to recognize the zodiac constellations, which is a backdrop of stars through which the planets, Sun, and Moon appear to move. And, although solar eclipses have occurred throughout history, the Babylonians were the first to record one of these spectacular events in 763 BCE.   Explaining the Sky Scientific interest in the sky gathered steam when the earliest philosophers began pondering what it all meant, both scientifically and mathematically. In 500 BCE the Greek mathematician Pythagoras suggested that Earth was a sphere, rather than a flat object. It wasnt long before people such as Aristarchus of Samos looked to the sky to explain the distances between stars. Euclid, the mathematician from Alexandria, Egypt, introduced concepts of geometry, an important mathematics resource in most of the known sciences. It wasnt long before Eratosthenes of Cyrene calculated Earths size using the new tools of measurement and mathematics. These same tools eventually allowed scientists to measure other worlds and calculate their orbits. Early tools, like the armillary sphere, were sometimes based on incorrect astronomy theories. Aristarchuss calculations on the relative sizes of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. These were done in the 3rd century B.C.E. Public Domain. The very matter of the universe came under scrutiny by Leucippus, and along with his student Democritus, began to explore the existence of the  fundamental particles called atoms. (Atom comes from the Greek word meaning indivisible.) Our modern science of particle physics owes a great deal to their first explorations of the building blocks of the universe.   Our modern attempts to understand the structrure of the atomn (as shown in thise artists concept) are based on ancient Greek explorations of the nature of matter. Science Photo Library/Getty Images Although travelers (particularly sailors) relied on the stars for navigation from the earliest days of Earth exploration, it wasnt until Claudius Ptolemy (more familiarly known simply as Ptolemy) created his first star charts in the year 127 AD that maps of the cosmos became common. He cataloged some 1,022 stars, and his work called The Almagest became the basis for expanded charts and catalogs through the succeeding centuries.   The Renaissance of Astronomical Thought The concepts of the sky created by the ancients were interesting, but not always quite right. Many early philosopher were convinced that Earth was the center of the universe. All else, they reasoned, orbited our planet. This fit well with established religious ideas about the central role of our planet, and humans, in the cosmos. But, they were wrong. It took a Renaissance astronomer named  Nicolaus  Copernicus  to change that thinking. In 1514, he first suggested that Earth actually moves around the Sun, a nod to the idea that the Sun was the center of all creation. This concept, called heliocentrism, didnt last long, as continued observations showed that the Sun was just one of many stars in the galaxy. Copernicus published a treatise explaining his ideas in 1543. It was called  De Revolutionibus Orbium Caoelestium (The Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres). It was his last and most valuable contribution to astronomy.   The status of Copernicus in front of the Jagiellonian University of Krakow, Poland. photo muguette/Getty Images The idea of a Sun-centered universe didnt sit well with the established Catholic church at the time. Even when astronomer Galileo Galilei used his telescope to show that  Jupiter was a planet with moons of his own, the church didnt approve. His discovery directly contradicted the holy scientific teachings. Those were based on the old assumption of human and Earth superiority over all things. Galileos writings were extensive chronicles of his work, although they were suppressed for a time. That would change, of course, but not until new observations and a flourishing interest in science would show the church how wrong its ideas were.   Galileo Galilei began the era of modern astronomy when he turned a telescope to the sky. His actions unleashed events that reverberated into the 20th century. Library of Congress. However, in Galileos time, the telescopes invention primed the pump for discovery and scientific reason that continue to this day.  His contributions and those of other ancient astronomers remain important in modern astronomy. However, for astronomy to advance, it had to move beyond small telescopes and naked-eye observations. The centuries following Galileos lifetime would bring astronomy into its own as a separate scientific discipline. Key Takeaways People have been interested in astronomy as long as they have been able to look up.The first astronomers used the sky as a calendar and time-keeping device, following as the stars changed daily and over the seasons.Cultural interest in the sky led people to associate constellations and certain stars and planets with their gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines.The Greek, Babylonian, Chinese, and other early astronomers began charting the skies.The Greek astronomy was used by the Romans.The first parents of modern astronomer were Copernicus and Galileo. Sources Krupp, E.  Echoes of the Ancient Skies: the Astronomy of ..  Harper Krupp, 1983.Krupp, E. C.  Skywatchers, Shamans Kings: Astronomy and the Archaeology of Power. Wiley, 1997.â€Å"Prehistoric Cave Art Suggests Ancient Use of Complex Astronomy.†Ã‚  ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 27 Nov. 2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181127111025.htm.Tang, Yvonne. â€Å"The History of Astronomy.†Ã‚  Home - Curious About Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer, 17 Jan. 2015, curious.astro.cornell.edu/people-and-astronomy/the-history-of-astronomy. Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

History of the Dust Bowl Ecological Disaster

The Dust Bowl was the name given to an area of the Great Plains (southwestern Kansas, Oklahoma panhandle, Texas panhandle, northeastern New Mexico, and southeastern Colorado) that was devastated by nearly a decade of drought and soil erosion during the 1930s. The huge dust storms that ravaged the area destroyed crops and made living there untenable. Millions of people were forced to leave their homes, often searching for work in the West. This ecological disaster, which exacerbated the Great Depression, was only alleviated after the rains returned in 1939 and soil conservation efforts had begun in earnest. It Was Once Fertile Ground The Great Plains was once known for its rich, fertile, prairie soil that had taken thousands of years to build up. Following the Civil War, cattlemen over-grazed the semi-arid Plains, overcrowding it with cattle that fed on the prairie grasses that held the topsoil in place. Cattlemen were soon replaced by wheat farmers, who settled in the Great Plains and over-plowed the land. By World War I, so much wheat grew that farmers plowed mile after mile of soil, taking the unusually wet weather and bumper crops for granted. In the 1920s, thousands of additional farmers migrated to the area, plowing even more areas of grassland. Faster and more powerful gasoline tractors easily removed the remaining native Prairie grasses. But little rain fell in 1930, thus ending the unusually wet period. The Drought Begins An eight-year drought started in 1931 with hotter than usual temperatures. Winter’s prevailing winds took their toll on the cleared terrain, unprotected by indigenous grasses that once grew there. By 1932, the wind picked up and the sky went black in the middle of the day when a 200-mile-wide dirt cloud ascended from the ground. Known as a black blizzard, the topsoil tumbled over everything in its path as it blew away. Fourteen of these black blizzards blew in 1932. There were 38 in 1933. In 1934, 110 black blizzards blew. Some of these black blizzards unleashed large amounts of static electricity, enough to knock someone to the ground or short out an engine. Without green grasses to eat, cattle starved or were sold. People wore gauze masks and put wet sheets over their windows, but buckets of dust still managed to get inside their homes. Short on oxygen, people could barely breathe. Outside, the dust piled up like snow, burying cars and homes. The area, which had once been so fertile, was now referred to as the â€Å"Dust Bowl,† a term coined by reporter Robert Geiger in 1935. The dust storms grew bigger, sending swirling, powdery dust farther and farther, affecting more and more states. The Great Plains were becoming a desert as over 100 million acres of deeply plowed farmland lost all or most of its topsoil. Plagues and Illnesses The Dust Bowl intensified the wrath of the Great Depression. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered help by creating the Drought Relief Service, which offered relief checks, the buying of livestock, and food handouts; however, that didn’t help the land. Plagues of starving rabbits and jumping locusts came out of the hills. Mysterious illnesses began to surface. Suffocation occurred if one was caught outside during a dust storm – storms that could materialize out of nowhere. People became delirious from spitting up dirt and phlegm, a condition which became known as dust pneumonia or the brown plague. People sometimes died from their exposure to dust storms, especially children and the elderly. Migration With no rain for four years, Dust Bowlers by the thousands picked up and headed west in search of farm work in California. Tired and hopeless, a mass exodus of people left the Great Plains. Those with tenacity stayed behind in hopes that the next year is better. They didn’t want to join the homeless who had to live in floorless camps with no plumbing in San Joaquin Valley, California, desperately trying to seek enough migrant farm work to feed their families. But many of them were forced to leave when their homes and farms were foreclosed. Not only did farmers migrate but also businessmen, teachers, and medical professionals left when their towns dried up. It is estimated that by 1940, 2.5 million people had moved out of the Dust Bowl states. Hugh Bennett Has an Idea In March 1935, Hugh Hammond Bennett, now known as the father of soil conversation, had an idea and took his case to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. A soil scientist, Bennett had studied soils and erosion from Maine to California, in Alaska, and Central America for the Bureau of Soils. As a child, Bennett had watched his father use soil terracing in North Carolina for farming, saying that it helped the soil from blowing away. Bennett also had witnessed areas of land located side by side, where one patch had been abused and become unusable, while the other remained fertile from nature’s forests. In May 1934, Bennett attended a Congressional hearing regarding the problem of the Dust Bowl. While trying to relay his conservation ideas to the semi-interested Congressmen, one of the legendary dust storms made it all the way to Washington D.C. The dark gloom covered the sun and the legislators finally breathed what the Great Plains farmers had tasted. No longer in doubt, the 74th Congress passed the Soil Conservation Act, signed by President Roosevelt on April 27, 1935. Soil Conservation Efforts Begin Methods were developed and the remaining Great Plains farmers were paid a dollar an acre to try the new methods. Needing the money, they tried. The project called for the phenomenal planting of two hundred million wind-breaking trees across the Great Plains, stretching from Canada to northern Texas, to protect the land from erosion. Native red cedar and green ash trees were planted along fencerows separating properties. The extensive re-plowing of the land into furrows, planting trees in shelterbelts, and crop rotation resulted in a 65 percent reduction in the amount of soil blowing away by 1938. However, the drought continued. It Finally Rained Again In 1939, the rain finally came again. With the rain and the new development of irrigation built to resist drought, the land once again grew golden with the production of wheat.

Immigrant Tragedy in the Cariboo Café - 1383 Words

Helena Maria Viramontes grew up in Los Angeles where relatives used to stay and live with her family when making the transition from Mexico to the United States. This is where she got her first taste of the lives of immigrants in this country within the urban barrios. Viramontess writing reflects this theme along with expressing her political opinions on the treatments of immigrants, especially Chicanos and Latinos. In her short story The Cariboo Cafà ©, Viramontes brings these ideas to life through three sections narrated by different individuals tied into the story. The Cariboo Cafà © is a story of Chicano immigrants and a Central American refugee. Along with these characters is the owner of the Cariboo Cafà ©, who comes in contact with†¦show more content†¦The speaker also talks of Nell, his ex-wife. Though there were things that annoyed him about her, he still speaks fondly of her. For instance, he remarks, Thats why Nell was good to have ‘round. She could be a pain in the ass, you know, like making me hang those stupid bells, but mostly she knew what to do. This allows the reader to see that the loss of his family has had a deep impact on him. He misses his wife and son and speaks of how families should be together, though his never will be again. This is what provokes him to do what he did next. The speaker sees a young sister and brother come into the Cariboo Cafà © with their mother. He also sees this same woman and children on T.V. with the report that the woman kidnapped these children. He states that he does not ordinarily get involved in affairs like these; however, when the police show up at the cafà ©, he points them toward the bathroom where the woman and two children are. The third section changes speakers once again. The reader is now getting a first person narrative of a Central American refugee woman. In the first paragraph she speaks of her son, Geraldo, who has been taken away from her and put in the detainers. Her voice is much less harsh than the previous speaker. Hers is softer and pleading. Her tone is one of desperation, desperation for losing her only child. She pleads, It is such delicate work, Lord,Show MoreRelatedImmigrant Tragedy in the Cariboo Cafà © by Viramontes1409 Words   |  6 PagesImmigrant Tragedy in The Cariboo Cafà © by Viramontes Helena Maria Viramontes grew up in Los Angeles where relatives used to stay and live with her family when making the transition from Mexico to the United States. This is where she got her first taste of the lives of immigrants in this country within the urban barrios. Viramontess writing reflects this theme along with expressing her political opinions on the treatments of immigrants, especially Chicanos and Latinos. In her short story TheRead MoreThe Cariboo Cafe1421 Words   |  6 PagesImmigrant Tragedy in The Cariboo Cafà © Helena Maria Viramontes grew up in Los Angeles where relatives used to stay and live with her family when making the transition from Mexico to the United States. This is where she got her first taste of the lives of immigrants in this country within the urban barrios. Viramontess writing reflects this theme along with expressing her political opinions on the treatments of immigrants, especially Chicanos and Latinos. In her short story The Cariboo Cafà ©Read MoreThe Cariboo Cafe : A Story Of Chicano Immigrants And A Central American Refugee1390 Words   |  6 Pageswhere she got her first taste of the lives of immigrants in this country within the urban barrios. Viramontes s writing reflects this theme along with expressing her political opinions on the treatments of immigrants, especially Chicanos and Latinos. In her short story The Cariboo Cafà ©, Viramontes brings these ideas to life through three sections narrated by different individuals tied into the story. The Cariboo Cafà © is a story of Chicano immigrants and a Central American refugee. Along with these

Power of Emotional Intelligence System †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Answer: The biggest challenge with me is handling my friend, as he was intensely depressed of failure in the interview. My friend had deep emotion attached to the company of his dream. However, with the failure in interview, it fell in deep sadness, which is difficult to manage. I tried my level best to ensure that he gets rid of the problem; however, it is not possible to console his soul by just saying any kind words to him. I am good at motivating people. I am also aware o the fact that leadership is a quality, which has proper understanding of human behaviours. However, I am les capable in understanding the human behaviour. This is because of such reason that I am less capable in motivating mgt friend. If I had the understanding of human behaviours in me, I would have successfully motivated my friend (Aaker and Joachimsthaler 2012). The problem, which I have in front me is to console the soul of my friend as he is in deep sadness because my friend could not crack the interview of his dream company. The moment when I came to know that my kind words are not working, I realized that this is perhaps the biggest challenge for me to make my friend feel good. I am aware of the leadership quality; however, I am lacking of this in practicality. If I had a better understanding of the human behaviour, I would have easily made my friend happier. The moment when I stuck with my strategy, I realized that taking someone out of his or her bad moments is highly challenging to me (Daft 2014). Why is it important that you change or improve your behaviour? It is very important that I change my behaviour and develop in me the understanding skills of different human behaviours; I would have easily made my friend feel good. I am feeling very bad for my friend and this is because that I could not make my friend happier. The saddest moment, which my friend is into has forced me think that I must have a better understanding of human behaviour. Things, which is preventing me from getting some tricky ideas to make my friend feel good has changed my perception and made me realized that I should have a better understanding of behaviours (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 2013). I feel that one good quality of leaders is to make someone happier and motivated. I am lacking this quality, which is why I am feeling that I should undergo some kind of courses for my personal development. I would also require reading many case studies and stories that are situational. I also believe that more I am with the practicality; the more I would bring effectiveness into my personality. I am also aware of the fact that I would have to face some difficulties as I have less time and a less guidance from others. However, I would give my heartiest devotion to the learning of human behaviour. The development program would certainly improve my internal and external behaviour (Hargreaves and Fink 2012). usual thinking or behaviour? The development program would certainly affect my internal and external behaviour. Some of the factors are very helpful in analysing that the existing behaviour is not up to the mark. This is because of such reasons that the improvement would be observable and the changes would draw some feedbacks from my colleagues or my professors. This would immensely help analysing the fact that I need to bring some changes to my personal behaviour. The instance when I tried to console my friend at his loss, I was helpless as I could do for him. This is one of those kinds of situations, which helps analyse the personal flaws in behaviour (Nahavandi 2016). The outcomes of my interactions with those who are less in motivation would tell me better that I have succeeded or not. The observer would also recognize my efforts. Moreover, if the results are satisfactory and if I am able to motivate others, then it means a success. However, if some failure happens such as in case of my friend whom I could not make feels good, this would definitely tell that I a less capable. The necessary feedbacks of the observer would also help know that success is only partially achieved (Northouse 2012). References Aaker, D.A. and Joachimsthaler, E., 2012.Brand leadership. Simon and Schuster. Daft, R.L., 2014.The leadership experience. Cengage Learning. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. and McKee, A., 2013.Primal leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press. Hargreaves, A. and Fink, D., 2012.Sustainable leadership(Vol. 6). John Wiley Sons. Nahavandi, A., 2016.The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson. Northouse, P.G., 2012.Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage.