Astronomy Cast Ep. 183 & 184: History of Astronomy Parts 1 & 2

Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet

We know you love a good series. This time we’re going to walk you through the history of astronomy, starting with the ancient astronomers and leading right up to the most recent discoveries. Today we’re going to start at the beginning, and in Part 1 we’ll talk about the astronomers who first tried to understand the true nature of the Earth, the planets and our place in the cosmos. In part 2 we’ll talk about the Greeks, who worked out the size and shape of the Earth, the distance to the Moon and Sun, and even had some accurate ideas about our place in the Universe.

Click here to download Episode 183: Part 1, Ancient Astronomy

Episode 183 Show notes and transcript

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Click here to download Episode 184: Part 2, The Greeks

Episode 184 show notes and transcript

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/