AstronomicalMoment

stronomical Moment

By;

Dan Neafus, Operations Manager

Gates Planetarium, Denver, Colorado

ubmitted to

Planetarian

forum 2006

Without question I feel that the most fascinating time period in Astronomy is

between 1670 and 1690. If my history research is correct a number of events

converged in this time period and it is only in retrospect that their importance is

revealed.

In 1679 Isaac Newton was

lecturing about his optics

experiments.

A few years later

Newton penned Philosophiae

Naturalis Principa Mathemateca

expanding on Kepler’s pioneering

work in mathematics.

His friend Edmund Halley

recorded observations of a comet

that matched the characteristics

of another seen 76 years

earlier

(and later)

In 1675 The Royal

Greenwich Observatory was

founded laying the groundwork

for

many of today’s navigational

standards.

Meanwhile the great Polish

observer Johannes Hevelius was

painstakingly

illustrating his

measurements of the stars,

creating one of the worlds great

artistic masterpieces.

Published in 1690 shortly after he

died, the 56 engraved

copper

plates preserved a set of

constellation drawings that make

the skies

appear to come alive

with his imaginative characters.

I can imagine watching these great men as they work, meticulously recording

and evaluating, driven by a passion for discovery and a yearning to

understand the world around them.