Probably not a single person on the planet who has not thought about obscure points of twinkling in the sky that are visible at night.Why is the moon goes around the Earth?All this and more is studying astronomy.What planets, stars, comets, when the eclipse, and why the ocean tides occur - these and many other questions are answered by science.Let's look in its formation and meaning for humanity.
Definition and structure of science
Astronomy - the science of the structure and origin of the various celestial bodies, celestial mechanics and development of the universe.Its name comes from two Greek words, the first of which means "star" and the second - "the establishment of the custom."
Next we will talk about all the way to the formation of this discipline.At the current stage of development, it includes several more specific areas.
astrophysics studies the composition and properties of celestial bodies.Subsection her a stellar astronomy.
Celestial Mechanics answers questions about the movement and interaction of cosmic objects.
Cosmology deals with the origin and evolution of the universe.
Thus, today, ordinary earth science with the help of modern technology can extend the scope of research beyond our planet.
object and purpose
In space, it turns out, is very much a wide variety of bodies and objects.All of them studied and constitute, in fact, the subject of astronomy.Galaxies and stars, planets and meteors, comets and antimatter - this is only a hundredth of the questions posed in front of the discipline.
Recently there was a tremendous opportunity of practical space exploration.Since then, the space program (or astronautics) proudly became shoulder to shoulder with academic researchers.
This mankind has dreamed for a long time.The first known novel - "Somnium", written in the first quarter of the seventeenth century.It was only in the twentieth century, people were able to look at our planet from outside and visit the Earth satellite - the Moon.
Astronomy Topics are not limited to these issues.Next, we'll talk in more detail.
What techniques are used to solve problems?The first and most ancient of them - watching.The following features have appeared only recently.This spectral analysis, photography, launch space stations and satellites.
Questions relating to the origin and evolution of the universe, the individual objects can not yet be adequately studied.Firstly, not enough of the accumulated material, and secondly, many bodies are too far to accurately study.
Observation types
First, mankind could only boast the usual visual observation of the firmament.But this primitive method gave stunning results, which we will discuss later.
Astronomy and space are connected today than ever.Objects studied by means of the latest technology, which allows to develop many branches of the discipline.Let's get acquainted with them.
optical method.The oldest version of the observations with the naked eye, with the assistance of binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes.This also applies to the newly invented photography.
The next section relates to the registration of infrared radiation in space.With the help of fixed invisible objects (eg, hidden behind clouds of gas) or the composition of celestial bodies.
value of astronomy can not be overemphasized, because it responds to one of the eternal questions: where we came from.
following techniques explore the universe for gamma radiation, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation.
There are also techniques that are not related to the electromagnetic radiation.In particular, one of them is based on the theory of neutrino nucleus.Gravitational wave industry is exploring space for the dissemination of these two actions.
Thus, the types of observations known at the present time, significantly expanded the capabilities of mankind in space exploration.
Let's look at the process of formation of the science.
birth and the first stages of the development of science
In ancient times, in the days of primitive society, people are just beginning to get acquainted with the world and to define the phenomenon.They were trying to understand the change of day and night, the seasons, the behavior of incomprehensible things, such as thunder, lightning, comets.What is the Sun and the Moon - too long remained a mystery, so they are ranked as deities.
However, despite this, in the heyday of the Sumerian kingdom of priests in the ziggurat made complex calculations.They divided the visible light in the constellation identified them known today "zodiacal belt" have developed a lunar calendar composed of thirteen months.Also, they opened "Metonic cycle", although a little earlier did the Chinese.
Egyptians continued and deepened study of celestial bodies.They have all developed an amazing situation.The Nile River is bottled in early summer, just at this time begins to appear on the horizon of the star Sirius, which was hidden in the winter months in the other hemisphere sky.
in Egypt for the first time began to divide the day into 24 hours.But at the beginning of the week they had a ten-day, that is, the month consisted of three decades.
However, the greatest development of ancient astronomy received in China.It almost managed to accurately calculate the length of the year, could predict solar and lunar eclipses, comets kept records, sunspots and other unusual phenomena.At the end of the second millennium BC appear first observatory.
antiquity
history of astronomy in our understanding is not possible without the Greek constellations and terms of celestial mechanics.While at first the Greeks and very much wrong, but eventually they were able to make a fairly accurate observation.Error, for example, was that appear in the morning and in the evening they thought Venus two different objects.
first who paid special attention to this area of knowledge, were Pythagoreans.They knew that the Earth is a sphere, and day and night are replaced, because it rotates on its axis.
Aristotle was able to calculate the circumference of the planet, however, made a mistake in a big way twice, but such accuracy that time was high.Hipparchus was able to calculate the length of the year, introduced a geographical concepts such as latitude and longitude.Lineups Standings solar and lunar eclipses.According to him it was possible to predict these phenomena up to two hours.Our meteorologists to learn from him!
latest luminary of the ancient world was Claudius Ptolemy.The name of the history of astronomy scientist retained forever.The genius of the error, which determined the development of mankind for a long time.He proved the hypothesis that the Earth is at the center of the universe, and all heavenly bodies revolve around it.Because of militant Christianity replaced the Roman world, many have been abandoned science such as astronomy, too.What is the Milky Way, and what is the circumference of the Earth, no one was interested, more than arguing about how many angels fit through the eye of a needle.Therefore geocentric scheme of the world for many centuries was the measure of truth.
Astronomy
Inca Indians saw the sky a little differently than the rest of the nations.Referring to the term, the astronomy - the science of the movement and properties of celestial bodies.The Indians of this tribe is primarily isolated and highly respected "Great River of Heaven" - the Milky Way.On Earth, it was a continuation of the Vilcanota - the main river near the city of Cuzco - the capital of the Inca Empire.It was believed that the sun, going to the west, sinking to the bottom of the river and it passed the eastern part of the sky.
It is known that the Incas were isolated following the planets - Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus, and without a telescope made observations that could only repeat Galileo using optics.
Observatory, they had twelve pillars, which were located on a hill near the capital.With their help determine the position of the sun in the sky and fixed the seasons, months.
Maya, in contrast to the Incas, have developed very deep knowledge.The bulk of that studying astronomy today was known to them.They made a very accurate calculation of the duration of the year, month, divided by two weeks of thirteen days.The beginning of 3113 was considered the chronology BC.
Thus, we see that in the ancient world and among the tribes "barbarians", what are they considered "civilized" Europeans, the study of astronomy was at a very high level.Let's see what could boast in Europe after the fall of the ancient states.
Middle
Thanks to the diligence of the Inquisition in the late Middle Ages and the weak development of the tribes in the early stage of this period, many science stepped back.If in antiquity people knew that studying astronomy, and many are interested in such information, in the Middle Ages became more developed theology.During the talks that the Earth is round, and the sun is in the center, you could be burned at the stake.Such words were considered blasphemy, and the people were called heretics.
Revival, oddly enough, came from the east, across the Pyrenees.The Arabs brought to Catalonia knowledge saved their ancestors from the time of Alexander the Great.
In the fifteenth century, Cardinal Cusa expressed the view that the universe is infinite, and Ptolemy wrong.These sayings were blasphemous, but very much ahead of their time.Therefore, they are considered nonsense.
But Copernicus made a revolution, who before his death decided to publish a study of his life.He proved that in the center is the Sun and the Earth and other planets revolve around it.
Planet
This celestial bodies orbiting the space.The name they got from the Greek word "stranger."Why is that?Because they seemed ancient people traveling stars.The rest are in the usual place, and every day they move.
How do they differ from other objects in the universe?Firstly, the planet sufficiently small.The size allows them to clean your way from planetesimals and other debris, but it is not enough to start a fusion reaction, like a star.
Secondly, because of their weight, they get a rounded shape, and because of certain processes currently form the dense surface.The third planet typically rotate in a particular system or a star remains.
Ancient people believed these celestial bodies "messengers" of the gods or polubozhestvami, a lower rank than, say, the moon or the sun.
Next was the era of "the Ptolemaic view of the world."In this century, it was believed that all the planets and other objects orbiting the Earth, and she, in turn, is at the center of the universe.
Only Galileo Galilei for the first time with the help of observations in the first telescope was able to conclude that, in our system, all the bodies go in orbits around the sun.For which he suffered from the Inquisition to silence him.But the case was continued.
By definition, recognized by the majority today, a planet considered only body with sufficient mass to orbit the star.The rest - it's moons, asteroids and more.From the viewpoint of single science in these rows are not present.
So, the time in which the planet makes a full circle in its orbit around the star, called a planetary year.The closest place on her way to the star - it periastron and the farthest - apoastron.
The second thing that is important to know about the planets, that's what they tilted relative to the axis of the orbit.Due to this during rotation hemisphere receive different amounts of light and radiation from the stars.So there is a change of seasons, time of day, the world has been formed and the climatic zones.
It is also important that the world except his way around a star (in a year), still revolve around its axis.In this case, a full circle is called "day."
The last feature of this celestial body - this is pure orbit.For normal functioning of the planet should be on the way, when faced with a variety of smaller objects, destroy all "competitors" and travel in splendid isolation.
In our solar system there are different planets.Astronomy has all eight of them.The first four relate to the "terrestrial" - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars.The rest are divided into gas (Jupiter, Saturn) and ice (Uranus, Neptune) giants.
stars
We see them every night in the sky.Black box, studded with brilliant points.They form a group called constellations.Yet not in vain in their honor called a science - astronomy.What is the "star"?
Scientists say that with the naked eye at a fairly good level of people can see the three thousand celestial objects in each of the hemispheres.
They have long attracted mankind and its flickering "unearthly" raison d'être.Let's look in more detail.
So star - a massive clump of gas, some cloud with a sufficiently high density.Inside it occurred or is occurring earlier thermonuclear reactions.The mass of these objects allows them to form around her system.
In the study of celestial bodies, scientists have identified several ways to classify.You've probably heard of "red dwarfs", "white giants" and other "inhabitants" of the universe.So, today is one of the most versatile classifications - typology of the Morgan-Keenan.
It implies the division of the stars of the magnitude and range of radiation.Descending group are named in the form of letters of the alphabet: O, B, A, F, G, K, M. So you understand it a little bit and found a reference point, the Sun, according to this classification, it falls into the group «G».
Where did these come from the giants?They are formed of the most common gas in the universe - the hydrogen and helium, but as a result of gravitational compression gain its final shape and weight.
Our star - the Sun and the nearest to us - Proxima Centauri.It is located in the Alpha Centauri system, and is away from us 270 000 distance from Earth to the sun.And it is about 39 trillion kilometers.
Actually all stars are measured in accordance with the Sun (their weight, size, brightness in the spectrum).The distance to such objects is considered in light years and parsecs.Last is about 3.26 light-years, or 30,850,000,000,000 kilometers.
amateur astronomers, of course, need to know and understand these figures.
stars, like everything else in our world, the universe, are born, evolve and die, in their case - explode.According to the Harvard scale, they are divided over the spectrum from blue (young) to red (the old).Our sun is a yellow that is "coming of age".
There are also brown and white dwarfs, red giants, variable stars and many other subtypes.They are different levels of different metals.After all, the combustion of different materials due to thermonuclear reactions can measure the spectrum of the radiation.
There are also the names of the "new", "supernova" and "hypernova".These concepts are not entirely reflected in the terms.Stars - just the old, mostly end their existence exploding.And these words indicate just what they noticed only during the collapse, before they are completely fixed even in the best telescopes.
If you look at the sky from Earth, the cluster are clearly visible.The ancients gave them names, composed about them the legends, to put their gods and heroes.Today we know names such as the Pleiades, Cassiopeia, Pegasus, came to us from the ancient Greeks.
Today, however, scholars have identified the star system.Put simply, imagine that we see in the sky the sun is not one, but two, three, or even more.Thus, there are double, triple and clusters of stars (where light more).
Next we will learn some funny moments that examines practical astronomy.What is fashion for meteorites, and other interesting facts - about all this below.
Interesting facts
Planet due to various reasons, such as distance from the star can "go" into outer space.In astronomy, this phenomenon is called "rogue planet".Although most scientists still insist that this protostar.
An interesting feature of the sky is that in fact it is not so, as we see it.Many facilities have long been exploded, and ceased to exist, but are so far away that we still see the light from the flash.
