Move 1: Astronomy in Ancient Human Civilizations
“The exploration of the cosmos is a voyage of self discovery.” - Carl Sagan
The desire to inquire about the universe beyond Earth comes not only as a necessity for the basic survival of the human species, but also as an intrinsic aspect of human nature as we try to make sense of the way the world around us functions.
The regularity, permanence, and predictability associated with celestial patterns offered a sense of comfort to early humans about their own existence as they sought to further expand their knowledge.
Ultimately, understanding why humans should continue to engage in space exploration requires an insight into why some of the first civilizations on Earth, with limited tools and technology, bothered to learn more about the stars that they saw every night.
Mesopotamian Astronomy
Chinese Astronomy
Mayan Astronomy
Greek Astronomy
Designated priest astronomers in the Mayan Empire devoted themselves to not only communicating with their gods, but also to using patterns in the sky to designate agricultural seasons, mark the passage of time, solve complex mathematical problems, and predict the future based on patterns they noticed in the sky.
The Mesopotamians were able to calculate the length of the Venus cycle, predict lunar eclipses, and develop the degree system so as to identify the positions of stars and planets in the sky, knowledge that following civilizations used to advance their own astronomical findings.
The Chinese built several observatories and planetariums and spent their time cataloging as many stars as they could, making careful observations of unusual phenomena like comets, sunspots, novas, and super flares, and refining their measuring instruments to achieve maximum precision.
To the pioneers of science in Greek society, “all bodies which existed above our planet were considered flawless and eternal.” Eventually certain Greek scientists like Pythagoras, who was the first to ever consider the earth spherical, began to regard astronomy as a tool for understanding the forces and laws of the universe without the intervention of deities.
With more and more information people gathered about the stars, planets, and laws of nature, each generation wondered anew about its place in the universe, making newer, better contributions to the field of astronomy than ever before. Even with all of the information we have about the universe today, there is a vast array of things yet to be explored as part of our legacy as a human race. Engaging in space exploration not only makes us more knowledgeable, but similarly to ancient civilizations, it also allows us to “find a harmony between the way we think and the way the world works.”