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Paper prepared by Prof. Omar Hasan Kasule Sr. MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard) DrPH (Harvard) Chairman, Institutional Review Board - KFMC
DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION:
• Astronomy studies the structure, properties, and motion of bodies in the universe: the earth, the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, the galaxies, the nebulas, comets, and interstellar matter. Celestial mechanics developed by Newton was first used to describe the motion of planets. Astrophysics is a branch of astronomy that studies the physical and chemical properties of celestial entities.
• Sub-disciplines of astronomy are: The study of the solar system, the study of the stars, the study of the Milkway Galaxy, cosmology.
• The solar system consists of the sun and 8 planets (including the earth) circulating around it. Planets have satellites. Besides planets, the solar system has asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and dust particles. There are many scientific theories about the origin of the solar system.
• Study of the stars involves computing their distance away, temperature, luminosity, diameter, and mass. Galaxies are clusters of stars with gases and dust. The solar system is within the Milk way Galaxy which has 100 trillion stars. Radiations are used to study galaxies.
• Astronomers have ventured into the field of cosmogenesis. The big bang theory is the working model use by astronomers. The theory asserts that 15 trillion years ago, there was an explosion and the universe expanded. When it started cooling stars started forming by condensation of nuclei and electrons producing atoms. Cosmologists are not sure of the future course of the universe whether it will continue expanding or it will start contracting.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT - 1:
• Astronomy started as the study of the movements of the sun, moon, and stars for astrological or calendrical purposes.
• Astronomy among the Greeks emerged from magic and myth when philosophers abandoned animism and started tried to explain observed phenomena of the universe. They tried to understand the order, origin, motion, and composition of the universe.
• Ancient Egyptian astronomy was calendrical in concern. They developed a civil calendar of 365 days with 12 months each of 30 days. They added 5 festival days at the end of the year.
• Ancient Babylonian astronomy also developed a calendar but went further by predicting astronomical phenomena using the zodiac and mathematical calculations. This knowledge was later passed on to the Greeks.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT - 2:
• Greek astronomy developed models for the universe and its motions. Claudius Ptolemy (cf 140 AD) developed theories to explain Greek astronomy in a systematic way and his book the Almagest remained influential for over 1000 years.
• Nicolas Copernicus proposed a heliocentric theory of the universe to replace the geocentric theory of Ptolemy. His theory published in 1543 was the start of a scientific revolution. Tycho Brahe made many observations that corrected the mistakes of earlier Greek astronomy. Using Tycho Brahe’s data, Johannes Kepler developed mathematical laws to explain planetary motion.
• Galileo using a telescope made observations that contradicted traditional cosmological teachings. He contradicted Aristotle’s assumption of the smooth surface of the moon. He also observed that the earth like other planets shines by reflected light.
• Newtonian mechanics was able to explain the movement of celestial bodies. Computational methods were able to predict the existence of planets that were later observed.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT - 3:
• Observations showed the regularity of movements of planets and that all moved in the same direction indicated that they have a common origin which opened astronomy and physics to the field of speculation about cosmogenesis. The movement of the earth was discovered later by observations of the effects of the earth’s movement on celestial observations.
• With the development of techniques to measure distances of faraway celestial objects, it was realized that there were other galaxies besides the milk way and that the universe was expanding. This in turn suggested the big bang theory about the start of the universe. The theory asserts that the universe started as a high-temperature and gaseous entity that cooled down and condensed.
• Stars have been theorized to change. They expand or contract. They may also explode violently giving rise to a supernova and the material given off is scattered in the interstellar medium to be the raw material for new stars or planets. The remaining core of the supernova becomes a neutron star. Neutron stars may collapse into black holes with a gravitational force so strong that light cannot penetrate them.
BASIC PRINCIPLES AND PARADIGMS:
RESEARCH METHODS:
• Astronomy is so far, an observational science since experimentation is not possible for bodies in space that are out of physical reach. Access to these bodies is limited to meteorites and samples obtained by space exploration.
• Accurate measurement of distances for distant objects is a challenge in astronomy.
• Telescopy started with Galileo in 1609 before that observations were with the naked eye. Telescopes are usually situated at high altitudes some being in space to avoid atmospheric interference.
• Radiation detectors are used to study radiations from celestial objects.
• Theoretical approaches
ISLAMIC EPISTEMOLOGICAL CRITIQUE:
ISLAMIC INTRODUCTION TO THE DISCIPLINE: