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In today's digital world, it's easy to forget that ancient astronomy relied on simple tools like sextants, pencils, and wrenches. Our predecessors were just as mesmerized by the skies as we are, and it's intriguing to explore the diverse ways astronomical phenomena were observed and documented throughout the ages.
10. Johannes Hevelius And The Golden Age of Amateur Astronomy
The renowned Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius, born into a family of successful brewers, initially had political aspirations. However, his ambitions took a turn as he became swept up in the astronomy craze that overtook 17th-century secular Europe.
Hevelius, truly a self-taught astronomer, recognized that to study the stars properly, he would need a dedicated observatory. Embracing the DIY spirit of his era, he constructed an observatory that spanned three rooftops, filling it with instruments he crafted himself.
When his relatively small telescopes proved insufficient, Hevelius created his masterpiece: a massive, 45-meter-long (150 ft) refractor. So impressive was its design that it caught the attention of the Polish royal family, who honored Hevelius’s ingenuity with a pension for future endeavors.
Hevelius was equally skilled with traditional tools as he was with his advanced equipment. When the famous Edmund Halley visited him, the comet’s namesake was astonished to discover that Hevelius could pinpoint the stars' positions using a sextant with the same accuracy as Halley could with a telescope.
In 1679, a catastrophic possibly deliberate fire destroyed much of Hevelius’s workshop and his instruments. Undeterred, the 68-year-old astronomer rebuilt much of his observatory before passing away.
9. John Dobson Makes Astronomy Accessible to All
John Lowry Dobson is often hailed as the godfather of amateur astronomy. Dobson transformed the field, making it accessible to everyone by sharing his designs for affordable, effective telescopes. These creations, known as Dobsonians, quickly became favorites among DIY astronomers and budget-conscious stargazers.
Born in China in 1915, Dobson’s family moved to the safer surroundings of San Francisco to escape the violent communist uprisings in the East. In the U.S., Dobson spent 23 years of his life as a monk in the Ramakrishna Order. Despite his free-spirited, hippie-like lifestyle, Dobson was fundamentally driven by a passion for science.
He earned a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Dobson then sought to challenge the Big Bang theory with mathematical equations, as he couldn't accept the idea that an entire universe could have emerged from pure nothingness.
While serving as a monk, his superiors recognized his talents, but he struggled to reconcile the order’s religious doctrines with the scientific truths of the modern world. His growing desire for a secular life eventually led him to leave the order and follow his true passion, astronomy. With no money to spare, he built his first telescope out of discarded materials.
Dobson then embarked on a tour to ignite public interest in his passion. Traveling from town to town in a converted minibus, towing his enormous telescopes, he set up observation stations all over California, eagerly inviting strangers to explore the stars through his homemade instruments. He also founded the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers club to share his enthusiasm with the masses.
8. The First Touchdown in the Far Reaches of the Solar System
The image above showcases humanity’s farthest stationary outpost in the universe: the Huygens probe, a collaborative mission between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). On January 14, 2005, Huygens was released from the Cassini spacecraft. After a tense and nerve-wracking journey, it successfully landed on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.
Located over a billion kilometers from the security of Earth, the courageous Huygens endured a perilous journey through Saturn’s crowded rings before parachuting into the thick, nitrogen-rich fog enveloping Titan. The moon’s feeble gravity cannot contain its atmosphere, allowing it to extend 600 kilometers (370 miles) out into space, far beyond Earth’s reach. After a calm two-hour descent, Huygens landed on Titan’s barren floodplain and captured a photo of the most extraordinary rocks humanity has ever seen.
The teams behind this achievement are more than eager to share their remarkable success, and you can also experience the breathtaking video of Huygens during the final stage of its mission. Initially, only Titan’s dense haze is visible, but as Huygens breaks through the atmosphere, a series of small-field-of-view snapshots gradually create detailed images. The video has been sped up 40 times, condensing four hours of activity into a thrilling five-minute clip.
7. The Mercury Program: America’s First Manned Spaceflights
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United States was ready to send actual humans into space, after successfully launching mice, insects, and other creatures into orbit with varying degrees of success. With significant support from the Air Force, Project Mercury became America’s first venture into human spaceflight, starting soon after NASA’s establishment in 1958. This pioneering program was largely successful, making the country’s first astronauts famous and wealthy. Life magazine sponsored this initial group of spacemen for (what would be the modern equivalent of) $4 million.
Project Mercury marked the dawn of a new age of astronomical exploration and provided a response to the Soviet Union’s advancements in space. Although the United States was the second to reach space, the technological breakthroughs initiated by Project Mercury ultimately led to America becoming the first country to land on the Moon.
The program’s first astronaut was a chimpanzee named HAM, who joined Mercury Spacecraft 5 on the mission’s inaugural journey. Despite the spacecraft’s unpredictable behavior, a partial depressurization, and an off-course splashdown 650 kilometers (400 miles) from its target, HAM safely returned in his tiny spacesuit.
From 1961 to 1963, the Mercury program completed six missions. It began with short, 15-minute sub-orbital flights before gradually increasing both duration—up to 34 hours—and altitude. After confirming the capsule’s safety for prolonged use, John Glenn aboard the claustrophobic Mercury capsule Friendship 7 completed three orbits around Earth in a five-hour flight. The program reached its peak in 1963 when Gordon Cooper made a historic 22 orbits aboard Faith 7, returning safely to resounding cheers. These accomplishments were incredible feats performed inside what could be described as a rocket-powered broom closet.
6. Astronomical Events Preserved in Stone
In late June of 1054, an unusually bright object appeared in the sky, astonishing our ancestors who likely thought it to be a new star or some divine omen. This rare sight, mostly recorded by astronomers in the East, outshone every other star and planet in the sky.
We now know that this phenomenon was the visible result of a massive stellar explosion. The supernova, occurring 6,000 light years away in the Taurus constellation, was the death throes of a star far more massive than ours. The remnants of this stellar collapse formed the well-known Crab Nebula. Although we were far enough to be spared any harm, we were close enough that our ancestors observed this event in (delayed) real-time, as the newly formed star remained visible in the sky for nearly two years before vanishing just as mysteriously. At its peak, the supernova was so bright that it could be seen during the day.
This entire event was captured in petrographic form by the Anasazi, an indigenous people known for their keen interest in the stars. A glyph painted on a 6-meter (20 ft) rock overhang in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, stands as one of the primary records of this incredible astronomical event.
The scene depicted in the petrograph shows what seems to be a large, brilliant star next to a crescent moon. Evidence suggests that the Anasazi observed the supernova near the Moon in their night sky, with the Moon in a waning phase at that time. The accuracy of the scale in the image supports the idea that this petrograph marks a rare celestial event, rather than being an abstract work created by an artist under the influence.
Additionally, a depiction resembling the Sun can be seen below, with faded marks suggesting a bright tail streaming behind it. These traces indicate that the Anasazi also witnessed the passage of Halley’s comet during this period.
5. Early Chinese Star Atlas
While the West was still grappling with basic sanitation practices, the Chinese were already creating highly accurate star charts. Discovered in 1907 from the town of Dunhuang, this star atlas represents the efforts of many generations of stargazers and celestial mapmakers. Dating back to the mid-seventh century, it holds the distinction of being the oldest surviving astronomical chart.
There are some key differences between the Dunhuang map from the East and the Western depictions of the stars. Rather than being based on mythological figures, the stars on the Dunhuang map are connected in simple patterns. The Chinese astronomers' view of the sky was distinct, showcasing smaller constellations and dimmer stars, though the latter is not immediately evident from the map, as the stars are not marked according to their brightness.
This provides a sharp contrast to Western star charts, which were often as much about art and folklore as they were about scientific observation. The only easily recognizable part of the atlas is found at the bottom center, where the Big Dipper is displayed.
4. Astronomical Events Depicted On Coins
The way humanity has recorded astronomical events has evolved significantly over the centuries. While modern astronomers rely on powerful supercomputers to store massive amounts of data, ancient civilizations utilized a variety of mediums, including coins, to document their observations.
One such coin, minted around 120 B.C. in ancient Greece, appears to depict an occultation, where one celestial body blocks the view of another. The coin portrays the Moon covering Jupiter, the fourth-brightest object in the night sky, according to Robert Weir, a professor of classics, astronomy, and numismatics at Windsor University. Weir believes that such an occultation would have been a significant event for a society that placed great importance on the predictive power of celestial phenomena.
What better way to memorialize this rare event than with a special-edition coin? The unique and uncommon images on the coin, which were not mass-produced, strengthen the idea that it commemorates the celestial event. Additionally, Weir was able to recreate the night sky visible to the ancient coin-makers, confirming that the occultation would indeed have been observable. Furthermore, around the time the coin was minted, a second occultation of Jupiter and one involving Venus also occurred in a short time span.
3. First Image From Mars
In the summer of 1976, two Viking landers made history as Earth’s first visitors to the red planet. After a year-long journey through the inner solar system, the nuclear-powered Vikings landed on Mars. With their plutonium-powered cores, the landers outlasted expectations, continuing to send back images long after their expected lifetimes.
Outfitted with seismometers, meteorological tools, spectrometers, and an array of cameras, the landers analyzed the Martian atmosphere, tested soil for signs of life, and captured numerous groundbreaking images. Among the most famous was the ‘face of Mars,’ photographed by the orbiting Viking spacecraft.
The image above is the first ever captured from Mars' surface. Taken on July 20, 1976, just after Viking 1 made its historic touchdown, it marked a new era in planetary exploration. Viking 2 followed shortly after, landing three weeks later, and the two landers continued to transmit data until the early 1980s, setting the stage for future rovers like Spirit and Opportunity.
2. First Accurate Depictions Of The Moon
For much of human history, the Moon was regarded as little more than a bright orb in the night sky, often seen as an omen of disaster. It was not the subject of serious scientific study; celestial bodies were long held to be divine and devoid of flaws. Any suggestion that the Moon might have imperfections would challenge the notion of celestial perfection.
This belief persisted until the development of telescopes in the early 17th century, which allowed scientists to observe the Moon’s surface in detail for the first time. In 1609, Galileo Galilei became the first to chart the Moon’s craters, mountains, and valleys with accuracy, producing the first realistic illustrations of its surface.
Though Galileo wasn’t the first to use a telescope to observe the Moon, Thomas Harriot had made earlier sketches, they lacked the depth and clarity of Galileo’s work. Galileo’s depictions, however, gained much greater attention, likely due to his growing fame and the fact that he published them in a treatise dedicated to his patron, Cosimo II de’ Medici.
Even after Galileo observed the Moon’s rugged surface, complete with craters and mountains, some still clung to the traditional beliefs. Cardinal Bellarmine, for instance, argued that the features Galileo had identified were not irregularities on the Moon’s surface but rather illusions caused by varying light and the human eye’s imperfections, amplified by the Moon’s fluctuating density.
1. Durer’s Zodiacal Woodcuts
Albrecht Durer, a German artist who was also a keen naturalist and astronomer, is renowned for his precise and intricate work, making him one of the foremost figures of the Northern Renaissance. His artistic output spanned a wide range, from religious art to anatomical and zoological studies, including the first-ever depiction of a rhinoceros that most 16th-century Europeans would have seen. His sketch remained influential for centuries.
Durer’s contributions to astronomy were equally remarkable. In 1515, he teamed up with renowned astronomers Johannes Stabius and Konrad Heinfogel to create woodcuts of both the northern and southern Zodiac constellations. These charts blended art with science, with Durer illustrating the constellations while his astronomer colleagues managed the mathematical and astronomical coordination.
These woodcuts are regarded as the first European star charts to be printed. The invention of the printing press just under a century prior made it possible for these maps to be mass-produced, making them accessible not only to scholars but to the general public and the inquisitive. This marked a significant shift in astronomy, as earlier astronomical works were typically reserved for a select group of academics.
Durer also honors his astronomical predecessors, which are highlighted at each corner of the map. This was a noteworthy gesture considering the near nonexistence of intellectual property rights at the time. Among these luminaries are the ever-present Ptolemy, along with the immensely important but often overlooked Al-Sufi, also known as Azophus, an Arabic scholar who mapped the heavens centuries before his European contemporaries.
