History of astronomy
Astronomy (also, uranology, but now an obsolete word[1]) is the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole.
From this perspective, the study of celestial bodies can be reasonably said to have begun when at some point humanity looked up and began to observe the moon and the stars and the planets regardless of how they may have thought of them.
These ancient beginnings are often indicated by structures studied by archeologist.[2] Stonehenge, constructed sometime between 3100 to 2000 BC may have constituted an astronomical site, possibly an observatory or the structrue may have been designed upon observations previously made. Either way it seems clear that Stonehenge was meant to take advantage of astronomical phenomena since the "heelstone" in the circle of stones is aligned with the rising Sun on Midsummer's Day (June 21, the Summer Solstice). This represents a true astronomical alignment. Many other Megalithic sites also demonstrate such alignments.[3]
References
- ↑ Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G & C. Merriam, 1913
- ↑ Archeoastronomy is the study of ancient and prehistoric astronomy; methods and interpretations.
- ↑ A Brief History of Astronomy Gene Smith, University of California, San Diego Center for Astrophysics & Space Sciences