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Ancient Astronomers
Ancient Astronomers
Observatories go back in history a long way to more than 5,000 years ago when men began to study the Sun, Moon, ad planets and recognize their influence in daily life. The priest in ancient Babylon watched the heavens from the summit of their temples. at Amen-Ra, so taht a narrow beam of sunlight falling upon
the wall of a darkened sanctuary Twould serve as an indicator of the precise time of the summer solstice. The early Incas and Mayans studied the stars from their pyramid observatories incorporating their understanding of the heavens into agricultural hand religious ritual.
is method of time measurement is arrived at in practise from the observation of the orbital motion ad satellite and is called ephemeris time (ET). An ephesmeris time is stable listing the positions slowly
Throught history, men have climbed mountaintops to look at stars. Perhaps once the idea was to be nearer the heavens. Now though astronomical observatories are placed on mountain peak to take advantage of the clearer air and isolation from populated area where various forms of industrial and light pollution would would interfere with observation.
A large observatory requires more than just a few telescopes to function. Room must be found to house resident staff and visiting astronomers and then these peoplemust be fed. Complex observatory equipment must be built and maintained in specialized workshops. Photo laboratories, offices, libariries and computer centers all necessary to the activities of a major observatory.
How observatory work
How observatory work
Today there are well over 100 major astronomical observatories in more than 30 countries around the world. Observatories with optical telescopes are located on high mountaintops, where telescopes have a generally clearer view into the skies. Even then viewing time is limited to particularly clear night, when atmospheric distortion is at a minimum. These mountaintops lookouts are also far away from population centers,sources of both air and light pollution that distort viewing; they are in regions with stable climates. This combination has helped make the American Southwest-Kitt Peak.
Astronomical Time
Astronomical Time
There is a clock so large that it can be observed by everyone and that is the Moon and Sun.
Ephemeris Time
Ephemeris Time
Man has been measuring time since the dawn of history, often based on Sun and Moon's movements. Scientists of the 20th century realized slight irregular in movements of the 2 sphere are in fact caused by Earth's rotation of the axis. However this was not enough for astronomers' goals. For this purposes, they reasoned that time related system independent of Earth's rotation must be drawed out. This concept is based on Sir Isaac Newton in 1687. From his law dynamical time could be obtained from motion of any bodies subject only to gravitation. This method arrived..... TBA
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