How did ancient astronomers imagine the universe? Detailed answer

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How did ancient astronomers imagine the universe? Detailed answer

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How did ancient astronomers imagine the universe?

As strange as it sounds, the more we learn about the universe, the harder it becomes for us to imagine it. Today we know that this is not only the Earth and other planets of the solar system, but also a galaxy that includes our solar system - the "Milky Way" - as well as other galaxies. Only in our galaxy there are about 200 stars, and how many more there are in others. The human mind is simply incapable of grasping something so vast!

However, in ancient times there was a very primitive idea of the universe. People believed that the sun, moon, stars and planets were just small bodies revolving around the Earth. They thought that the universe is what they wanted to see it, that is, in its center is a huge, flat, motionless Earth, and above it stretches the dome of the sky, strewn with thousands of small lights.

For the first time, the beginnings of the true doctrine of the universe appeared in ancient Greece. Most Greek astronomers still believed that the Earth was stationary and at the center of the universe. However, the famous scientist Pythagoras already in the VI century BC. e. suggested that the earth is spherical. Aristarchus, who lived in the III century BC. e., believed that the Earth rotates around its axis, while revolving around the stationary Sun. One hundred years later, another ancient Greek astronomer - Ptolemy - wrote a book called "Almagest".

Returning to the erroneous claim that the earth is at the center of the universe, he tried to portray the orbit of the sun and the paths of other planets as supposedly in continuous motion around the earth. The picture of the universe he created dominated European science for many centuries.

It was not until 1543 that Copernicus again put forward the idea that the sun was the center of the universe. Then came the invention of the telescope, and the development of astronomy accelerated dramatically. Gradually, as mankind learned more and more about the universe around us, modern ideas about it developed.

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

How was the soil formed?

If the surface of our Earth were not covered with soil, man would not be able to exist on it. Without soil, there would be no vegetation, and man and other animals would not be able to get their own food.

Soil is a light, powdery covering in which vegetation grows. It consists of small stones, remains of vegetation and animal organisms. Small stones at one time were large rocks, the remains of plants and animals belonged to living plants and living beings.

The hardest rocks erode over time. Constantly there is a process of "weathering" - the destruction of rocks. Glaciers bring masses of rocks, destroying rocks and mountains.

In combination with chemical elements, water dissolves and washes out some types of rocks. Temperature changes contribute to the destruction of mountains. From heating and cooling, cracks form on the surface of the rocks. Water gets there, which, when frozen, further destroys the mountains. Even the roots of plants destroy rocks. Tree seeds fall into cracks in rocks, they give rise to shoots and, with their roots, also contribute to the destruction of rocks. The wind, which brings sand, completes the destructive work.

But this is only the beginning of soil formation. For the formation of real soil in the sand or in the smallest particles of rock, it is necessary to add "humus". Humus is an organic matter obtained from plants and animal remains.

As a result of the activity of bacteria, the remains of almost all plants and animals turn into soil. Bacteria decompose them and increase soil fertility. Earthworms and other insects also enrich the soil. The most fertile is the top layer of soil, called the "arable layer". It has the most humus. The next layer is the subsoil, which mainly consists of the remains of rocks. Even lower is the bedrock.

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