Astronomy and Human Life : A Never Ending Connection
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Nurul Basyirah (USIM Internship Student 2020)
“Astronomy constantly reminds people of two seemingly contradictory things. First that the universe is infinite and we are of but the tiniest fraction of importance. And second that life is rare and precious. A home as beautiful and unique as earth does not come often. We must protect it.”
We live in a modern society, where our needs are met by different technologies. It is an age of information, technology and science. You can get details about whatever you want. You’re allowed to know all that’s around you. How it works, who invented it and what materials are used in manufacturing. Let’s look at the ancient times when sciences are just beginning to develop. We know the Earth model is more like a circle and we know its round, but people thought its square and you could crash out. Nevertheless, Pythagoras gazed with a naked eye at the heavens and its planets, the moon, the sun and other celestial structures. Peoples had always been drawn to space. Astronomy has significantly evolved in Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Mesopotamia, and India. Lack of knowledge led to a misperception of the planet, and it was believed that the Earth was the center of the universe.
NAVIGATION
With the beginning of sailing around the world navigation had become the most important thing, and before compass was invented, sailors were using stars.
The constellation, Orion, rises in the east and sets in the west. Orion’s belt, the only three bright stars that form a short straight line in the whole night sky rise very close to due east and set very close to due west. If you want to be really accurate then the first star in the belt to rise and set, called Mintaka, will always rise and set within one degree of true east and west wherever you are in the world. In Malaysia, we can use Orion as qibla direction.
TIME MEASUREMENT AND CLOCK
Time is one of the most important thing in our universe. More than 32, 000 thousand years ago there was no clocks but people know how to measure time. They were using sundials and noticed that in different times of the year, the length of day is different.
ISLAMIC ASTRONOMY IN MALAYSIA
Observation activities at that time were done to see the crescent or hilal for determining the starting of Islamic calendar months, especially the months of Ramadhan, Syawwal and Zulhijjah which are related to fasting and celebration of the Muslims in Malaysia.
ASTRONAUTICS. ASTRONOMY AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATIONS
Astronomy has a great influence on developing different means communication and astronautics. Developing of different antennas, infrared radiation, radio waves firstly was only for military and astronautics, but later it influenced on developing Internet, GPS and other tools and technologies that allows us communicate with different people all over the world.
ASTRONOMY AND OTHER SCIENCES
To understand universe around us Astronomy needs a lot of different tools that can be developed in sciences like electrical engineering, chemistry, optical science, physics, computer science, biology and many others. Simulation has become one of the most important technologies for astronomy. It is very helpful in modelling cosmic events around Earth. This allows us predict if asteroid or meteorite is going to hit us. Astrobiology is one of the most interesting sciences that you may find at studying astronomy. To find different resources, minerals and life on other planets is very exciting. In future this science will help us to make human colonies on Mars.
ADVANTAGES OF STUDYING ASTRONOMY
If you have an opportunity, whether to study astronomy or not, think twice before losing an opportunity of studying such amazing subject. Nowadays it is the base discipline for many others that you will have an opportunity to study after astronomy. Astrobiology, astrophysics, galactic astronomy, planetary science, radio astronomy and there are 15 more disciplines that closely related to astronomy and equally exciting. You can become one of those who makes the futuristic theories real. We all know how night sky looks like, but what is beyond it nobody exactly knows. You have an opportunity to find out and solve the biggest secrets of the universe. Perhaps you are the one who will find an alien life forms. If when you are looking at the stars at the night sky, thinking about the whole universe and its secrets, feel that goose bumps run on the skin and it catches your breath, this means that you will definitely fell in love with astronomy.
