Category History

Mayan Astronomy In America, during the pre-Columbian era, a fairly extensive astronomical study was developed. Some Mayan observations are well known, such as the lunar eclipse of February 15, 3379 BC. The Mayas had their own solar calendar and knew the periodicity of the eclipses.

Astronomy of the nineteenth century Giuseppe Piazza discovered in the end of the year night 1800/1801, in the space between Mars and Jupiter, the first small planet baptized with the name of Ceres. Numerous small planets (asteroids, planetoids) were discovered below. The parallaxes of the outer and inner planets were made during the transits and later the parallaxes of the first stars were made as was 61 of the Swan by Fiedrich Bessel in the year of 1838, resulting in a distance of 11 light years.

Construction of the International Space Station In 1992 there is a fundamental advance in the rapprochement between the Russian and American space programs with the signing of the agreement for the realization of a joint mission between the American shuttle and Mir. The year after signing the agreement already mentioned for the joint construction of the International Space Station or ISS, merging the Freedom and Mir 2 projects.

Astronomy in the 18th century After Newton's time, astronomy branched out in various directions. With the law of universal gravitation, the old problem of planetary movement was re-studied as celestial mechanics. The refinement of the telescope allowed the exploration of planets' surfaces, the discovery of many weak stars and the measurement of stellar distances.

Astronomy in ancient times Human curiosity regarding day and night, the Sun, the Moon and the stars, led primitive men to the conclusion that celestial bodies seem to move on a regular basis. The first utility of this observation was, therefore, to define time and to orient oneself.

Space probes A space probe is an artificial instrument that is sent to space in order to study the different bodies of the Solar System. Planets, satellites, asteroids or comets are the main objectives of space probes. They are not manned, and collect information that they send to scientists on Earth.

The Chinese space program The Chinese launched their first gunpowder rockets in the third century B.C. However, they joined the space race late, slowly but surely. China's space program is carried out through the National Space Administration of China (CNSA). He began taking his first steps in 1956.

The Apollo program In July 1960, before the end of the Gemini Program, NASA announced the launch of the Apollo Program. In principle it was a manned trip to locate an appropriate place to land on the Moon. However, the pressures in the space race made this program the definitive project for man to step on our satellite for the first time.

The arrival on the moon July 20, 1969. Through the screens of the televisions connected by Mundovision with the space, images of a shared dream that is becoming reality will arrive: the conquest of the Moon. For the first moon landing in history, a place is chosen in the central-western part of the Sea of ​​Tranquility.

Inca Astronomy Without a doubt, that of the Incas is the most representative empire in South America. In the Central Andes area, pre-Inca cultures carried out works such as the Nazca Lines, or the Puerta del Sol in Tiahawanaco. In reality, there is still much to be investigated in this regard and nowadays scientists from different parts of the world have returned to look at America, because without a doubt, despite the looting carried out by the European conquerors, many things can be discovered plus.

Space shuttles The name of space shuttle or space shuttle is known to manned transport ships. In English, its official name is Space Transportation System. During the time they were in operation they were used to supply and place orbital modules in the International Space Station and for maintenance missions, such as the Hubble Space Telescope.

Voyager-1 leaves the Solar System Having been launched into space 36 years ago, the Voyager 1 space probe has achieved its greatest milestone: being the first man-made object that exceeds the border of the Solar System. On September 12, 2013, it was found that Voyager 1 had left our system.

Japan in Astronautics Japanese astronautics has been running since the late 1960s. Its modest space program was launched with the appearance of the NASDA, the National Space Development Agency. This was responsible for Japan launching its first satellite with a national rocket in February 1970.

History of celestial mechanics Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that is responsible for studying the movements of celestial bodies. These movements are due to the gravitational effects exerted by some bodies on others. In order to analyze them, the principles of physics that apply in classical mechanics, such as the Law of Universal Gravitation, by Isaac Newton, are used.

History of astronomical observation Since the beginning of time, human beings have been attracted to what happened in the sky. That is why Astronomy is considered the oldest science. Over the centuries, research related to the sky has evolved in parallel to the improvement of the different means of celestial observation.

Astronomy in Alexandria In the second century A.D. the Greeks combined their celestial theories with observations translated to planes. Astronomers Hipparchus of Nicea and Claudius Ptolemy determined the positions of some 1,000 bright stars and used this star map as the basis for measuring planetary movements.

How did the stars move in the Middle Ages? The Arabic translation of Ptolemy's peak work, the Almagesto, which developed his theory of the geocentric system, remained in force throughout the Middle Ages. Other transcendental works at this time were the Tablas Toledanas, written by Toledo Azarquiel and Alfonsinas Tables of Alfonso X El Sabio.

Precision and rigor of Simon Newcomb The role of Canadian astronomer Simon Newcomb has been vital in the development of celestial mechanics. Newcomb reviewed in the nineteenth century the table of lunar positions, in addition to recalculating the main astronomical constants quite accurately. He also performed the calculation of numerous orbital disturbances, caused by the force of attraction of other sidereal bodies.

Celestial mechanics in Greece and Rome Since ancient times, man observed that there were stars in the sky that, as the days went by, described irregular paths. These trajectories were made with a variable speed. In the sixth century, these bodies the Greek philosopher Anaximenes called Planets, to differentiate them from the stars.

The International Space Station. The Project The International Space Station is the most ambitious space project since the Apollo program. Being an international project, the majority of manned space programs depend on its success. The space station is an adventure because of the sophisticated nature of the project and it is an adventure because it is a collaborative experience between different nations.