Agnes Clerke
Occupation
Astronomer, Writer
Year born
1842
Research Areas
History of Astronomy, Biographies, Spectroscopy
- Early Life
Agnes was born in Skibbereen, Ireland. She was schooled at home and spent lots of time studying the things her parents enjoyed. Subjects like music, maths, and science. Her father loved astronomy and had a small telescope. Agnes, her father, and her siblings used it to look at the night sky. They saw the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter.
Biographies
Many people have changed the course of history. These people are often leaders or rulers, but many are scientists. Scientists have made sense of what we see in the night sky. Their work has revealed how our Universe works.
For example, Maria Mitchell. Maria was the first American woman to be paid to work as an astronomer. She discovered a comet in 1847 which was later known as "Miss Mitchell's Comet". Maria tried to increase the number of women who worked in astronomy. She also demanded that her pay should be the same as her male colleagues.
Ancient Astronomy
Our ideas about the Solar System and space have changed over time. People have looked to the skies for thousands of years. They have looked at the movement of the stars and the changes of the Sun and Moon.
The ancient Greeks also did a lot of work in astronomy and maths. Eratosthenes first worked out the distance around the Earth (it's circumference) in 240 BCE. You can try out his experiment yourself on the summer solstice! Hipparchus was the first person to record the wobble of the Earth as it spins on its axis. We call this wobble precession. He was also the first to measure the distance to the Moon.
History
The study of the night sky dates back to ancient times. The stars have been used for navigation and keeping time since long before the common era.
As such, it is one of the oldest forms of science with deep roots in cultures around the globe.
Find the Moon Missions
Did you know that 6 Apollo missions landed on the Moon? The first was Apollo 11 in 1969. The last was Apollo 17 in 1972.
Read All About it! Man on the Moon!
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