| Astronomer |
Article Index for Astronomer |
Shopping Astronomer |
Articles about Astronomer |
Website Links For Astronomer |
Information AboutAstronomer |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ASTRONOMER | |
| astronomy | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
|
was famed for his work on Sunspot s, and being the first to study the surface of the Moon .]] INTEREST IN THE SKY Cultures around the world appear to have taken an interest in the sky since Prehistoric Times . Independently, some of these cultures began to support groups of scribes or priests who dedicated themselves to the observation of objects in the heavens. The observation of the motions of the planets, and prediction of their future motions, was the chief occupation of Ancient Astronomy . In the west, astronomy is generally thought to have begun in Ancient Mesopotamia . Recent studies of Babylonian records have shown them to be extremely accurate for the ancient night sky. ASTROLOGY BACKGROUND It is important to recognize that before about 1750 , Astrology was considered to be a science closely allied to Astronomy . In some times and places, the two have been regarded as identical. Astronomers, unlike most scientists, cannot interact with most of the objects that they study, (Apart from the earth and the Moon). They instead must resort to detailed Observation in order to make discoveries. Generally, astronomers use Telescope s or other imaging equipment to make such observations. The job itself is involved with travel to remote locations to study as well. A SAMPLING OF FAMOUS ASTRONOMERS There is also a well-known painting by Johannes Vermeer titled ''The Astronomer'', which is often linked to Vermeer's ''The Geographer ''. These paintings are both thought to represent the growing influence and rise in prominence of scientific inquiry in Europe at the time of their painting, 1668 - 69 . THE MODERN ASTRONOMER The progress in technology and wealth has enabled many more types of Astronomers than ever before. Advances in imaging technology have brought about an un-precendented sharing of visual and sub-visual phenomena in the sky, both day and night events. Web proliferation of space derived data has enabled many phenomena to be observed by more astronomers than ever before, especially auroral displays, comet appearances, and occultations. Advances in software to guide telescopes and cameras, and measure the light values accurately, had enabled higher quality images and vast contributions to be made by many more astronomers, than previously. Yet another type of Astronomer can be identified; the website builder and promoter, sharing science and sky images as part of the growth in networking astronomy, in-turn, encouraging the growth by disseminating both result and technique. Even the recent discovery of earth impact craters by so-called 'arm-chair' astronomers, using Google Earth, is a newly enabled valid type of Astronomer. Astronomers are often mathematicians, but more than likely looking through a telescope or camera and recording the image. Observing, measuring, and sharing occultation events is a growing activity, highly important to adding knowledge of and future predictions of sky objects, such as the shape of the moon, asteroids, and planets to a very high accuracy, with a modest investment in equipment. The division between professional and amateur astronomer is more blurred than ever before, with amateur astronomers contributing to many fields of knowledge, often significant, micro-lensing as a planet discovery method for instance. The division is often a perceived gap, inside astronomy there is often no gap, astronomers are often respected for their passion, their typical modesty and generosity, and remarkable tenacity, delivering results. CURRENT ACTIVITIES BY ASTRONOMERS
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|