Pendleton, OR
ASG Observatory
NGC2244
IC405, IC410, IC417, NGC1931
NGC 3372
NGC 1499
NGC7000
M45
Horsehead & Flame Nebula
Barnard 33
To view the stars means to look back in time as nearly all of the basic principles were developed over 2000+ years ago. Without doing an in-depth write-up of the past, hopefully we can give a brief run-down of the beginnings of our astro journey to where we are today… starting with Pythagoras.
Around 530 BC/BCE, Pythagoras conceived the idea that the heavens in the sky were moving in circles… thus understanding orbits and paths. Around 200 years later, Aristotle develops a radical idea that would hold true for nearly 2000 years… that the earth was the center of the universe. There very well could be others who understood that the circular paths of bodies, but the Greeks loved to study the heavens and thus many of today’s most popular celestial bodies are still the Greek mythical names of gods and creatures.
A battle back and forth begins in whether the sun or the earth is the center of the universe. Aristarchus believes it’s the sun, Ptolemy says it’s the earth, in 1543 AD/CE Copernicus says it’s the sun. People will die because of these beliefs at the hands of religion and others who believe opposing views. In the 1600’s Giordano Bruno decides it’s not the sun or the earth at the center of the universe… he is right.
In the early 1600’s, Galileo and others begin the use of telescopes to magnify light… and it quickly takes flight into celestial viewing. Within 100 years people had spotted the rings of Saturn, measures light speed, and in 1687 Isaac Newton develops the universal law of gravity. A lot happens in this 100 years to push physics.
The 18th century is introduced with novel ideas such as comets, nebula, black holes and asteroids. By the 19th century we have spotted planets including Neptune and Uranus. People are feverishly plotting and discovering new stars and discovering new astrophysics that explain star behavior, light, elements, and visual spectrums.
By the time the 20th century roles around, we have greats like Albert Einstein publish his general theory of relativity in 1916. In 1924 Edwin Hubble realizes that spiraling Nebulae are really galaxies in their own. Pluto is discovered in 1930, and quantum mechanics comes into light. Probably no greater contribution though is Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Less than 100 years ago, we start pushing to send people to space, moon, and beyond. In 1990, NASA puts the famous Hubble Space Telescope HST into orbit and astronomy takes a major leap forward. Without the limitations of earth’s atmosphere, HST takes some of the most awe inspiring images over the next 30+ years we have ever seen…
Hubble Space Telescope – One of my favorite NASA projects and the amazing imagery it has brought in, which leads to much more in science and discovery.
Photo Credit: NASA
The technological advancements in astronomy in the past 100 years has been exponential in growth and distribution. What used to be the realm of university observatories and wealthy elites has now become the new norm for backyard enthusiasts willing to brave the sleepy night. Computing power has changed the way we see, calculate and track the heavens. Seeing is now easily converted from analog to digital and enhanced where the naked eye could never see before.
Many of the early Greek ideas, navigation items, and conventions still exist, and the history is worth understanding…