Kepler’s Somnium imagined the heavens from the Moon, revealing Earth as another celestial body while testing what...
Astronomy
Look beyond Earth through the history and science of astronomy, from early skywatchers to contemporary observatories. These studies show how changing instruments have expanded humanity’s understanding of the cosmos.
From Halley’s mapped shadow in 1715 to the 1919 test of general relativity, total solar eclipses helped...
The Dresden Codex transformed recurring lunar cycles into eclipse warnings, joining sophisticated Maya mathematics with divination, ritual...
Thales and Anaxagoras to Hipparchus, the Antikythera Mechanism, and Ptolemy, Greek thinkers made eclipses problems of cause,...
In Han China, solar eclipses were meticulously observed celestial events and potent political warnings that could expose...
When an eclipse foretold a ruler’s death, Assyrian scholars offered a chilling solution: crown another man, transfer...
Ancient mariners combined celestial observation with close knowledge of the sea, using learned skills and practical tools...
Indigenous astronomy across the Americas reveals a sophisticated, place-based science in which celestial observation shaped agriculture, architecture,...
Ancient civilizations wrestled with the possibility of life beyond Earth, offering diverse cosmologies that reveal a persistent...
In the nineteenth century, scientists and thinkers widely believed the universe was filled with life, a confidence...
From Martian Canals to Exoplanet Biosignatures: The Historic Scientific Search for Life beyond Earth 
From Martian Canals to Exoplanet Biosignatures: The Historic Scientific Search for Life beyond Earth
The arc from Lowell’s imagined Martian engineers to Webb’s atmospheric spectroscopy demonstrates not only the persistence of...
Babylonian astronomy cannot be fully understood if confined to the history of science. It was, fundamentally, a...
Medieval writers linked the Moon’s phases to bodily moisture and earthly growth, using lunar cycles to guide...
The history of modern astrophysics is, in many ways, the history of a deepening intimacy with the...
By Matthew A. McIntoshPublic HistorianBrewminate Introduction In the vast expanse of Chinese legend, few tales capture the...
Heliocentrism’s triumph reshaped the epistemological foundations of knowledge itself. By Matthew A. McIntoshPublic HistorianBrewminate Introduction The intellectual...
In the 19th century, astronomers could see Mars through telescopes, but not clearly. By Dr. Matthew ShindellCurator,...
After two defeats by the Soviets, the U.S. was desperate for a win. Introduction After World War...
The monument’s ancient connection to the skies may run even deeper than we realized. Introduction When it...
In medieval manuscripts, angels moved celestial spheres and the Sun rode a chariot, revealing how inherited astronomy...
For decades, historians have grappled with the origins of modern science in early modern Europe. Abstract Historians...
The skies and the gods were inseparable in Maya culture. Astronomers kept careful track of events. By...
Greco-Roman accounts of the Persian Wars mention astrologers among high-ranking Persian dignitaries. Introduction Hellenistic astrology encompassed various forms...
A new study measured exactly how much brighter night skies are getting every year. Introduction For most...
Astronomy had interested many ancient thinkers, but two views of the universe dominated and endured. Introduction The...
Astronomer Caroline Herschel’s work discovering and cataloging astronomical objects is still used in the field today. Introduction...
From Babylonian omens to Renaissance horoscopes, Western astrology linked celestial patterns to earthly lives, shaping medicine and...
Early scientists were eager to use photographic technologies to learn more about the moon. You’ve probably seen...
The telescope quickly opened up a whole new area of scientific inquiry. Introduction The invention of the...
In the annals of history, one civilization stands out for its remarkable understanding of the cosmos—the mighty...