Astronomy - Ch. 4: History of Astronomy (8 of 16) The Power of Observations and Reasoning
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By: Michel van Biezen
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Astronomy - Ch. 4: History of Astronomy (8 of 16) The Power of Observations and Reasoning - Video
Astronomy #39;s New Messengers
Marcia Bartusiak joins Kip Thorne, Laura Danly and Rainer Weiss to demonstrate how two observatories on opposite sides of the country, called LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave ...
By: World Science Festival
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Carbon County Star Parties Video
A short video to gain people #39;s interest in astronomy and Star Parties held by local astronomy groups all over the world! Contact your local astronomy club or group and join them for a Star...
By: Eddie Horvath
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Islamic astronomy comprises the astronomical developments made in the Islamic world, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age (8th15th centuries),[1] and mostly written in the Arabic language. These developments mostly took place in the Middle East, Central Asia, Al-Andalus, and North Africa, and later in the Far East and India. It closely parallels the genesis of other Islamic sciences in its assimilation of foreign material and the amalgamation of the disparate elements of that material to create a science with Islamic characteristics. These included Greek, Sassanid, and Indian works in particular, which were translated and built upon.[2] In turn, Islamic astronomy later had a significant influence on Byzantine[3] and European[4] astronomy (see Latin translations of the 12th century) as well as Chinese astronomy[5] and Malian astronomy.[6][7]
A significant number of stars in the sky, such as Aldebaran and Altair, and astronomical terms such as alidade, azimuth, and almucantar, are still referred to by their Arabic names.[8][9] A large corpus of literature from Islamic astronomy remains today, numbering approximately 10,000 manuscripts scattered throughout the world, many of which have not been read or catalogued. Even so, a reasonably accurate picture of Islamic activity in the field of astronomy can be reconstructed.[10]
Ahmad Dallal notes that, unlike the Babylonians, Greeks, and Indians, who had developed elaborate systems of mathematical astronomical study, the pre-Islamic Arabs relied entirely on empirical observations. These observations were based on the rising and setting of particular stars, and this area of astronomical study was known as anwa. Anwa continued to be developed after Islamization by the Arabs, where Islamic astronomers added mathematical methods to their empirical observations.[12] According to David King, after the rise of Islam, the religious obligation to determine the qibla and prayer times inspired more progress in astronomy for centuries.[13]
Donald Hill (1993) divided Islamic Astronomy into the four following distinct time periods in its history:
The period of assimilation and syncretisation of earlier Hellenistic, Indian, and Sassanid astronomy.
The first astronomical texts that were translated into Arabic were of Indian and Persian origin.[14] The most notable of the texts was Zij al-Sindhind,[n 1] an 8th-century Indian astronomical work that was translated by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Fazari and Yaqub ibn Tariq after 770 CE under the supervision of an Indian astronomer who visited the court of caliph Al-Mansur in 770. Another text translated was the Zij al-Shah, a collection of astronomical tables (based on Indian parameters) compiled in Sasanid Persia over two centuries. Fragments of texts during this period indicate that Arabs adopted the sine function (inherited from India) in place of the chords of arc used in Greek trigonometry.[12]
This period of vigorous investigation, in which the superiority of the Ptolemaic system of astronomy was accepted and significant contributions made to it. However, Dallal notes that the use of parameters, sources and calculation methods from different scientific traditions made the Ptolemaic tradition "receptive right from the beginning to the possibility of observational refinement and mathematical restructuring".[15] Astronomical research was greatly supported by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun through The House of Wisdom. Baghdad and Damascus became the centers of such activity. The caliphs not only supported this work financially, but endowed the work with formal prestige.
The first major Muslim work of astronomy was Zij al-Sindh by al-Khwarizmi in 830. The work contains tables for the movements of the sun, the moon and the five planets known at the time. The work is significant as it introduced Ptolemaic concepts into Islamic sciences. This work also marks the turning point in Islamic astronomy. Hitherto, Muslim astronomers had adopted a primarily research approach to the field, translating works of others and learning already discovered knowledge. Al-Khwarizmi's work marked the beginning of nontraditional methods of study and calculations.[16]
In 850, al-Farghani wrote Kitab fi Jawani (meaning "A compendium of the science of stars"). The book primarily gave a summary of Ptolemic cosmography. However, it also corrected Ptolemy based on findings of earlier Arab astronomers. Al-Farghani gave revised values for the obliquity of the ecliptic, the precessional movement of the apogees of the sun and the moon, and the circumference of the earth. The book was widely circulated through the Muslim world, and even translated into Latin.[17]
The period when a distinctive Islamic system of astronomy flourished. The period began as the Muslim astronomers began questioning the framework of the Ptolemaic system of astronomy. These criticisms, however, remained within the geocentric framework and followed Ptolemy's astronomical paradigm; one historian described their work as "a reformist project intended to consolidate Ptolemaic astronomy by bringing it into line with its own principles."[18]
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Astronomy in medieval Islam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Our solar neighborhood is an exciting place. The Solar System is full of planets, moons, asteroids, comets, minor planets, and many other exciting objects. Learn about Io, the explosive moon that orbits the planet Jupiter, or explore the gigantic canyons and deserts on Mars.
The Solar System is made up of all the planets that orbit our Sun. In addition to planets, the Solar System also consists of moons, comets, asteroids, minor planets, and dust and gas.
Everything in the Solar System orbits or revolves around the Sun. The Sun contains around 98% of all the material in the Solar System. The larger an object is, the more gravity it has. Because the Sun is so large, its powerful gravity attracts all the other objects in the Solar System towards it. At the same time, these objects, which are moving very rapidly, try to fly away from the Sun, outward into the emptiness of outer space. The result of the planets trying to fly away, at the same time that the Sun is trying to pull them inward is that they become trapped half-way in between. Balanced between flying towards the Sun, and escaping into space, they spend eternity orbiting around their parent star.
This is an important question, and one that is difficult for scientists to understand. After all, the creation of our Solar System took place billions of years before there were any people around to witness it. Our own evolution is tied closely to the evolution of the Solar System. Thus, without understanding from where the Solar System came from, it is difficult to comprehend how mankind came to be.
Scientists believe that the Solar System evolved from a giant cloud of dust and gas. They believe that this dust and gas began to collapse under the weight of its own gravity. As it did so, the matter contained within this could begin moving in a giant circle, much like the water in a drain moves around the center of the drain in a circle.
At the center of this spinning cloud, a small star began to form. This star grew larger and larger as it collected more and more of the dust and gas that collapsed into it.
Further away from the center of this mass where the star was forming, there were smaller clumps of dust and gas that were also collapsing. The star in the center eventually ignited forming our Sun, while the smaller clumps became the planets, minor planets, moons, comets, and asteroids.
Once ignited, the Sun's powerful solar winds began to blow. These winds, which are made up of atomic particles being blown outward from the Sun, slowly pushed the remaining gas and dust out of the Solar System.
With no more gas or dust, the planets, minor planets, moons, comets, and asteroids stopped growing. You may have noticed that the four inner planets are much smaller than the four outer planets. Why is that?
Because the inner planets are much closer to the Sun, they are located where the solar winds are stronger. As a result, the dust and gas from the inner Solar System was blown away much more quickly than it was from the outer Solar System. This gave the planets of the inner Solar System less time to grow.
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The 2015 National Science Olympiad Astronomy Event Part 3
By: Chandra X-ray Observatory
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The 2015 National Science Olympiad Astronomy Event Part 3 - Video
Looking Up at the Library: Astronomy, Books and Experiences
Astronomer Ron Thompson of Southern Maine Astronomers talks with public librarians about tools and telescopes libraries can use to bring astronomy to their patrons. From the December 12, 2014...
By: Cornerstones of Science
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Looking Up at the Library: Astronomy, Books and Experiences - Video
Moon Phases: Crash Course Astronomy #4
In this episode of Crash Course Astronomy, Phil takes you through the cause and name of the Moon #39;s phases. -- Why the Moon Has Phases 0:36.1 Spheres in Orbit 1:05.4 Name of the Moon Phases...
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Guide for Astronomy Part 3
By: Chandra X-ray Observatory
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Beginners Astronomy Blog - Mike Culligan
First steps in practical instruments and viewing techniques. Making a simple prismatic spotter-scope. Using moon filters, using cross-hairs and aligning an o...
By: giantdormouse
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Astronomy - Ch. 4: History of Astronomy (6 of 16) Ancient Structures: Ahu Tongariki, Easter Island
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will explain how the Ajanta Caves in India honors the summer and winter s...
By: Michel van Biezen
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Highlights of the Night Sky - February 2015 | Astronomy Space Science Video
More space news and info at: http://www.coconutsciencelab.com - what to look for in the night sky during February 2015. Please rate and comment, thanks! Credits: STScI.
By: CoconutScienceLab
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Highlights of the Night Sky - February 2015 | Astronomy Space Science Video - Video
Published: Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 6:02 p.m. Last Modified: Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 6:02 p.m.
Teenaged stargazers will again have the chance to learn about astronomy from University of Florida professors at the fifth STARS Workshop, scheduled for late March.
The two-day free workshop, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, is scheduled for March 24-25 during Alachua County Public Schools spring break.
Astronomy graduate student and program organizer Tahlia De Maio said the workshop is geared toward students who are interested in science but may not have had experience with astronomy.
From 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day of the workshop, students will be in the astronomy department working with professors on labs and using the scientific method.
They get a real hands-on understanding of what it means to do science, De Maio said. Its an immersive two days of being an astronomer.
Students will also observe the stars in the evenings using UFs on-campus telescope.
The workshop is open to students in eighth through 10th grade in Alachua County and surrounding areas. Transportation to UF is not provided.
UF Astronomys STARS Workshop is free, but meals are not provided, De Maio said.
There are 40 spaces in the program and admission is based on student applications, which can be found at http://www.astro.ufl.edu/stars.
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16 hours ago Credit: The District
Astronomy and oncology do not make obvious bedfellows, but the search for new stars and galaxies has surprising similarities with the search for cancerous cells. This has led to new ways of speeding up image analysis in cancer research.
Despite their red-brick finish, the corridors of the Institute of Astronomy can seem more like an art gallery than a research centre, so beautiful are the images of supernovae and nebulae hanging there. Dr Nic Walton passes these every day as he makes his way to his office to study the formation of the Milky Way and search for planets outside our solar system.
On the screen of Walton's computer is what appears to be a map of stars in our Milky Way. In fact, it is something that is around 25 orders of magnitude smaller (that's ten followed by 25 zeros).
It is an image of cells taken from a biopsy of a patient with breast cancer; the 'stars' are the cells' nuclei, stained to indicate the presence of key proteins. It is the similarities between these patterns and those of astronomical images that he, together with colleagues at the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Cambridge Institute, is exploiting in PathGrid, an interdisciplinary initiative to help automate the analysis of biopsy tissue.
"Both astronomy and cell biology deal with huge numbers: our Milky Way contains several billion stars, our bodies tens of trillions of cells," explained Walton.
PathGrid began at a cross-disciplinary meeting in Cambridge to discuss data management. Walton has been involved for many years with major international collaborations that, somewhat appropriately, amass an astronomical amount of data. But accessing data held by research teams across the globe was proving to be a challenge, with a lack of standardised protocols. Something needed to be done and Walton was part of an initiative to sort out this mess.
The issue of data management in an era of 'big data' is not unique to astronomy. Departments across the University from the Clinical School to the Library face similar issues and this meeting was intended to share ideas and approaches. It was at this meeting that Walton met James Brenton from the CRUK Cambridge Institute. They soon realised that data management was just one area where they could learn from each other: image analysis was another.
Walton and his colleagues in Astronomy capture their images using optical or near-infrared telescopes, such as the prosaically named Very Large Telescope or the recently launched Gaia satellite, the biggest camera in space with a billion pixels. These images must then be manipulated to adjust for factors including the telescope's own 'signature', cosmic rays and background illumination. They are tagged with coordinates to identify their location, and their brightness is determined.
Analysing these maps is an immense, but essential, task. Poring over images of tens of thousands of stars is a laborious, time-consuming process, prone to user error, so this is where computer algorithms come in handy. Walton and colleagues run their images through object detection software, which looks for astronomical features and automatically classifies them.
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Astronomy image analysis algorithms adapted to cancer screening method
Astronomy v. Astrology - Genesis 1:14
Astronomy v. Astrology Biblical view from Genesis 1:14. King James Bible, from the sermon, "King Herod and the Wise Men", New Covenant Baptist Church, KJV.
By: New Covenant Baptist
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Astronomy - Ch. 4: History of Astronomy (4 of 16) Ancient Structures: Ajanta Caves, India
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will explain how the Ajanta Caves in India honors the summer and winter s...
By: Michel van Biezen
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Astronomy - Ch. 4: History of Astronomy (4 of 16) Ancient Structures: Ajanta Caves, India - Video
Astronomy - Ch. 4: History of Astronomy (5 of 16) Ancient Structures: Chaco Canyon, New Mexico
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will explain how the Pueblo Indians observed the summer and winter solsti...
By: Michel van Biezen
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The Farmington Museum at Gateway Park hosts Family Astronomy Night
The Farmington Museum at Gateway Park hosts Family Astronomy Night By: Hannah Grover - I report on news and religion for the Farmington Daily Times. Publishe...
By: TheDailyTimes
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The Farmington Museum at Gateway Park hosts Family Astronomy Night - Video
Heather Dawn Astronomy Asteroids
Asteroids,Comets,Space,Dinosaurs,heather dawn, Astronomy, armageddon.
By: Heather Dawn
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Hubble: The Beginning - Astronomy Before The Hubble Space Telescope Documentary
Looking at the state of astronomy before Hubble and the difficulties of observing from the ground that drove the need for a space telescope. Astronomers inst...
By: Amazing Space - Astounding Images and Videos
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Hubble: The Beginning - Astronomy Before The Hubble Space Telescope Documentary - Video