Lesson video

Hi, everyone, my name is Miss Hummel, and together we'll be answering the question, what do astronomers do? In this lesson, we'll discuss the differences between astrology and astronomy, particularly which one is considered scientific.

We will then discover the works of famous astronomers and their contributions to society.

Our lesson will follow this structure.

First, we will discuss what astrology is.

We will follow that by discussing astronomy and the main difference between both of them.

Then we will focus on famous astronomers that we should know.

Finally, you will complete some application questions and a little project.

In this lesson, you will need an exercise book or paper, a pencil or pen, a coloured pencil or pen, and a ruler.

If you have not got those things, pause the video now and go get them.

Here are star words, which are the most important words of our lesson.

I'm going to say them and ask you to repeat them after me.

When I point at myself, it will be my turn.

And when I point at you, it will be your turn.

Stars, universe, astrology, horoscope, ancient Mayans, astronomy, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Katherine Johnson, Jocelyn Bell Burnell.

Great, we'll begin by discussing what astrology is.

You may have heard this word before.

The skies have been studied for thousands of years.

One study of stars called astrology was believed to have begun around the time of the ancient Greeks.

Have you heard about the ancient Greeks before? They're famous for introducing democracy and the Olympics, as well as countless contributions to science and mathematics.

Astrology is where it is believed that the movements of the stars and the planets will affect what happens to living things on Earth, including humans.

Astrology is where horoscopes come from.

Modern science has found no evidence that they are true.

Mediaeval doctors also used astrology, as they believed that the movement of the stars affected people's health.

The modern word influenza comes from a mediaeval Italian word, meaning the influence of planets.

Each part of the body was associated with an astrological sign.

And the procedure such as bleeding would only be carried out when the moon was in the correct position.

Physicians, therefore, needed knowledge of astrology as well as medicine to treat patients.

Also, according to the mediaeval chart of Zodiac Man, each part of the body was associated with a star sign.

Physicians consulted a book which contained charts to decide when to bleed patients or carry out other procedures.

Now it's your turn to answer the question.

What is astrology? Astrology is.

You can pause the video to answer the question, and you can resume once you've finished.

We're now going to focus on astronomy, including the differences between astronomy and astrology.

Just because they have similar names does not mean that they're the same.

Now repeat after me.

Astronomy is the study of all objects in the universe outside of the Earth.

Astronomy is the study of all objects in the universe outside of the Earth.

Astronomy is.

A scientist who studies astronomy is called an astronomer.

Although astrology and astronomy sound similar, they are very different.

Astronomy is based on scientific evidence, and astrology is not.

You're now going to pause the video to answer these questions.

First, what is astronomy? And second, which is based on scientific evidence, astronomy or astrology? You can resume the video once you're finished.

To mark your work, astronomy is the study of all the objects in the universe outside of the Earth.

And astronomy is based on scientific evidence, astrology is not.

Let's hear a little history.

Yes, history in science about astronomy.

Astronomy started with detailed mapping of the stars and planets by the Mayans in South America and others such as Ptolemy, who lived in Egypt.

For a long time, people could not agree if the Earth was like other planets and orbited the sun, which we know is true, or if the sun, the moon, and all of the sky orbited the Earth.

This debate was argued by astronomers from Greece, India, and even in the Islamic world for hundreds of years.

It's similar to when people used to believe that the Earth was flat, until they had scientific evidence proving otherwise.

You're now going to pause the video to answer this recap task.

In which parts of the world was the place of the Earth discussed? We mentioned a few.

Let's see if you remember.

Finally, with help from the work of many astronomers, Nicolaus Copernicus showed that the Earth and all the planets orbited the sun as we understand it today.

After the invention of the telescope, about 400 years ago, humans could see things in space in much more detail than ever before.

The knowledge that astronomers gained over the next 400 years, with the help of engineers who got better and better at building, helped us get to a stage where humans could go into space and even get to the moon.

However, there is still a huge amount to understand about space that will likely take many hundreds of years more to discover.

You're now going to pause the video to complete this recap task.

Which type of scientist helped astronauts get into space? Let's focus now on famous astronomers that we should know.

In preparation for the rest of the lesson, you should create a table that looks like this.

On one column, you should have famous astronomers with the names.

We have ancient Mayans, Ptolemy, Nicolaus Copernicus, Katherine Johnson, Jocelyn Bell Burnell.

Then we should have a column that says Lived, which will tell us when they were around.

After that, we should have a column that says Background information, which will tell us a little bit about them.

Finally, we should have a column which tells us what they are famous for.

Pause the video now to make this table.

You should be taking notes as I'm going through the different astronomers.

I've colour coded the information to make it easier to find.

You can resume the video once you've finished your table and you're ready for the rest of the lesson.

We'll begin with ancient Mayans.

They lived for thousand years up until 1697 CE.

Here's some background information about them.

So this was an advanced civilization in South America that created the most accurate early calendar for its time.

They're famous for accurately mapping out the motions of the stars across the night sky.

Maya astronomer priests looked for the heavens for guidance.

They used observatories, shadow casting devices, and observations of the horizon to trace the complex motions of the sun, the stars, and the planets in order to observe, calculate and record this information.

From these observations, the Maya developed calendars to keep track of celestial movements and the passage of time.

The Maya also kept detailed records of the moon.

Next, we've got Ptolemy.

Now, he lived from about 100 CE to 170 CE.

This is some background information.

So he had Greek ancestry and was a mathematician and an astronomer.

He lived in Alexandria, which is a place in Egypt.

He's most famous for creating "The Almagest," which is a book, mapping the motions of the stars and planets, which accurately predicted where planets would be.

Now, remember, up until now you should have been taking those notes on your table.

We've now got a recap task.

So you should pause the video to complete this task.

Where were the ancient Mayans based, and what was included in the book, "The Almagest"? Next, we've got Nicolaus Copernicus.

He lived in 1473 to 1543 CE.

The background information we've got about him is that he was a Polish astronomer who showed that the sun was at the centre of the solar system, and not the Earth.

These ideas got him into so much trouble with the Catholic church at the time.

So he was so scared that he did not publish his finding until he was on his death bed.

So he was about to die, and then he published his findings because he was scared of what would happen to him if he showed his findings before his death.

He's most famous for writing "On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres." You're now going to pause the video to complete this recap task.

Why did Copernicus not published his findings until he was on his death bed? Next, we have Katherine Johnson.

She lived from 1918 to 2020 CE.

This is some background information about her.

She was a gifted mathematician and could do incredible calculations.

This gave her the job as a computer for NASA before electronic computers were created that could do those jobs.

So she was doing the job of a computer.

She's most famous for providing the calculations that enabled NASA to send humans into space.

You're now going to pause the video to complete this recap task.

Katherine Johnson was given the job of a.

Now, we're going to learn about Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who's our last astronomer that we're going to learn in this lesson.

She lived in 1943, and she's still alive now.

And this is some background information about her.

She studied physics at a time when girls were discouraged from doing so.

So girls were often told to do other kinds of professions, if any professions at all.

So in a way, she was very revolutionary for her time.

She worked in research that led to a Nobel Prize, which many believed that she should have also been awarded.

And she's most famous for discovering a new type of star called a pulsar.

You're now going to pause the video to complete this recap task.

What did Jocelyn Bell Burnell's work lead to? Finally, we're going to complete some application questions and a project.

I would now like you to pause the video to complete this task.

You will match the person to the discovery below.

On the left column, we've got ancient Mayans slash Ptolemy.

We're going to kind of group them together.

We've got Copernicus, Nicolaus Copernicus.

We've got Katherine Johnson, and we've got Jocelyn Bell Burnell.

In the right column, we've got, discovered a new type of star called a pulsar, mapped out the movement of stars and planets in more detail than ever before, wrote a key book that showed that the sun was at the centre of the solar system, was a human computer that helped humans get into space.

Now, you can resume once you're finished matching your questions.

Now get ready to mark your work.

So ancient Mayans and Ptolemy went in with, mapped out the movement of stars and planet in more detail than ever before.

Copernicus went with, wrote a key book that showed that the sun was at the centre of the solar system.

Katherine Johnson went with, was a human computer that helped humans get into space.

And Jocelyn Bell Burnell went with, discovered a new type of star called a pulsar.

Now it's time for our project.

You'll be using the information from this lesson or your own research to write a report on my favourite astronomer.

You're going to complete the planning questions below and then write the full report.

Our planning questions are, who have you picked as your favourite astronomer, the first of all, two, in which years did they live, three, write down two or three facts about them, and four, give one or two reasons why they are your favourite.

That's the part I would really care about the most.

Now, pause the video to complete this project.

You can resume once you've finished.

Finally, I would like to end on a thinking task.

Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Now, he did not mean actual giants.

He was speaking kind of metaphorically.

So what does this mean, and how does this apply to the astronomers that we've spoken about? Now, it could be that we should appreciate the work of all the previous astronomers who have led us to all the information that we have today.

We have now finished our lesson, and it is time for you to complete your exit quiz.

You need to exit the video and complete the quiz to test your knowledge and understanding of this lesson.

I hope you enjoyed the lesson, bye.