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ASTRONOMY
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• ASTRONOMY
• From the dawn of civilization, humans have
• looked with wonder and awe at the heavens,
• seeking to understand the nature of the sun,
• moon, planets, and stars.

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Astronomy is the oldest science, dating back
thousands of years to when primitive people
noticed objects in the sky overhead and watched
the way the objects moved. The Greeks were the
first ones to try to explain how the universe
worked in a logical, systematic manner using
models and observations. Modern astronomy (and
all of science) has its roots in the Greek
tradition. With the limited means available to
them, ancient Greeks studied the regular
movements they saw in the sky. The calculations
they made laid the foundation for the science of
astronomy
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Ancient peoples needed to establish the proper
times for planting and harvesting crops and for
religious celebrations. The movement of celestial
bodies helped them keep track of time and helped
them find bearings on long trading journeys or
voyages.
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• Astronomy
• is the science that deals with the location
  size, motion and physical characteristics of
  celestial bodies.
  
• is the study of the stars and planets, and other
  celestial objects -- where they are each night is
  important in order to find them and study them.
  
• is a science -- a study that is performed using
  mathematical and physical principles

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• is the study of the universe and the celestial
  bodies, gas, and dust within it.
  
• includes observations and theories about the
  solar system, the stars, the galaxies, and the
  general structure of space.
  
• also includes cosmology, the study of the
  universe and its past and future
  
• has a long tradition of practical results, such
  as our current understanding of the stars, day
  and night, the seasons, and the phases of the
  Moon.

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• Ptolemy of Alexandria
• The most influential ancient astronomer
• His geometric scheme, THE PHOTHAGRIEN
• THEORY(a2b2c2), predicted the motions of
• the planets.
• In his view, Earth occupied the center of the
• universe. His theory approximating the true
• motions of the celestial bodies.

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MYTHOLOGY
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MYTHOLOGY
Mythology is a collection of stories or
narrative events which form a tale not normally
verifiable, but whose origin is nearly always
unknown, and yet they have a claim to truth.
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MYTHS were told by poets and mythographers

• they have connections with all aspects of human
  life and experience
  

• they refer to the origins and the nature of the
  universe, the gods and mankind
  

• they claim to reveal historical facts or may
  describe psychological truths
  

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• they make emotional valuations and concern
  themselves with moral, physical or ontological
  issues
  

• they may convey beliefs, superstitions, rituals,
  literary images, and social ideas
  

• they may use symbols and allegories as well as
  reason, philosophy and ethical values.
  

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• The Greek myths may be divided into two
  categories
  
• Divine myths
• Heroic myths

The Divine myths consist of the tales referring
to the gods, such as the creation of the world,
the origin of the gods and other tales mainly
related to them,
The Heroic myths are formed by tales related to
kingdoms on earth, heroes and heroines, and the
events in these tales are normally located in
real geographical places
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Basic Features of the Myths
Myths touch upon any field of human life and
experience and, although consisting of many
stories, are perceived as a single all-embracing
tale which is assumed to have been delivered to
men by the gods, being in virtue of that
circumstance both true and sacred.
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The foundation of the myths lies in divine
presence and the Heroic myths are linked to it
through three devices

• divine intervention in human affairs

• any kind of reference to the gods or to someone
  related to them
  

• genealogy establishing descent from the gods.

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Myths are not concerned with belief and disbelief
only in the story itself.
The myths provides the material and the images
upon which art, religion, philosophy or science,
found their basis.

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ASTROLOGY
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ASTROLOGY The ancient astronomers thought tha
t the positions of celestial bodies revealed what
was going to happen on Earth--wars, births,
deaths, and good fortune or bad.
This system of belief is called astrology. Beca
use the ancient astrologers wanted to predict
precisely what would happen on Earth, they
studied the motions of the celestial bodies.
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Ancient astronomers noted that the sun makes a
yearly journey across the celestial sphere.


The ancient astronomers associated dates with the
constellations in this narrow belt (which is
known as the zodiac), assigning to each
constellation of stars the dates when the sun was
in the same region of the celestial sphere as the
constellation.
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The twelve zodiacal signs for these
constellations were named by the 2nd-century
astronomer Ptolemy, as follows Aries (ram),
Taurus (bull), Gemini (twins), Cancer (crab), Leo
(lion), Virgo (virgin), Libra (balance), Scorpio
(scorpion), Sagittarius (archer), Capricorn
(goat), Aquarius (water-bearer), and Pisces
(fishes).
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• Astrology
• uses the positions of the stars and planets also,
  to predict events affecting a person's life.
  
• is not concerned with the nature of the stars and
  planets themselves, but only in their effect on
  people.

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• is the science of the effects of the planets'
  movements on our lives and all things.
  
• is based on astronomy in that astrologers need
  to know the correct positions of the planets at
  any given time, as well as the correct positions
  of the zodiacal fixed star signs in relation to
  any place on earth at any given time.
• is the theory that the locations of the sun and
  planets at the moment of a person's birth can
  affect that person's life -- predicting his or
  her personality, events which will be important
  in the future, and who that person will be
  compatible with.

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• uses the positions of the stars and planets also,
  to predict events affecting a person's life.
  

• is not concerned with the nature of the stars and
  planets themselves, but only in their effect on
  people.
  

• relies on the positions of the planets, but there
  the similarity ends -- astrologers use a set of
  rules and relationships to attempt to predict a
  person's future, but these rules do not relate to
  science as it is understood today.

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Astrology is often called a "pseudo-science" by
scientists, meaning that it attempts to predict
future results based on current or past
conditions (as does much of science), but does so
with a set of rules that are not grounded in
scientific law. It has not been scientifically
proven that the positions of the stars and
planets at the moment of a person's birth have
any affect on his or her future.
Astronomy and Astrology are often confused, but
it is important to understand the differences.
Historically, they are related.

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Astrology relies on the positions of the plane
ts, but there the similarity ends -- astrologers
use a set of rules and relationships to attempt
to predict a person's future, but these rules do
not relate to science as it is understood today.

Since astronomy fits into the framework of modern
science, it is studied in universities as a
branch of physics. Since astrology does not fit
into this framework, it isn't considered a
scientific field of study.
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But it is important to know that both astronomy
and astrology came from ancient observations of
the positions and motions of stars and planets,
and that these two fields aren't as different as
many people would think!
The real difference between astronomy and
astrology is that astronomy produces results
which fit in with our current views of science.
Astrology does not produce results which are
measurable by science -- its predictions are
personal, rather than scientific, in nature.
Astronomy and Astrology have continued to develop
over time, and are interrelated, but very
different.