Have you ever wondered how astronomers know what makes up the atmosphere of a distant planet? How do

Mathemematics and How It Relates to Astronomy How Astronomers Use Math Bright Hub Leave a comment Home Science Space Astronomy How Mathematics Is Related to Astronomy written by: pms19650 • edited by: RC Davison • updated: 8/26/2010
Have you ever wondered how astronomers know what makes up the atmosphere of a distant planet? low air fares airline london england How do astronomers know that a galaxy is moving toward us or away from us? The answer to both of these questions is contained in mathematics. slide 1 of 4 How Mathematics Are Used In Astronomy
Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion taught mankind how the planets circled the Sun. This mathematical concept expanded on an observation that Copernicus originally made. It describes celestial mechanics or how the planets move through the Solar System in elliptical orbits. Describing how bodies move in relation to one another, and learning more about them is a core element of astronomy. It was left up to Newton's Law to provide a useful gravitational relationship for space exploration. This is known as Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. The Newtonian law is basic to describing planetary escape velocities, orbital slingshot mechanics, and satellite fly-bys. In each scenario, astronomical information is being gathered, but mathematics low air fares airline london england makes it possible to these perform missions. It also allows us to interpret the information gathered.
Please note that Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion were used to derive Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion was published in 1609 and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation was written in 1687. Now let's review the science of observation. slide 2 of 4 Other Applications for Mathematics
Radio telescopes provide information from the unseen electromagnetic spectrum. This includes infrared radiation, X-rays, gamma rays and cosmic radiation. Radio telescopes use complex equations to separate radio frequency "noise" from true deep space signals. This math-based process low air fares airline london england is known as filtering. Today, digital filtering low air fares airline london england techniques are used extensively low air fares airline london england to manipulate the data gathered from an observation, either to eliminate noise and/or enhance the desired frequencies from the object low air fares airline london england of study.
Calculating the redshift of a galaxy or distant heavenly body can be used to tell us whether it is moving toward our planet or away from it. This is accomplished using the famous redshift equation, which is listed below:
The motion of the universe was a critical factor in developing the big bang theory. Knowing and understanding the redshift has provided a tremendous amount of information about how the universe was formed and its potential future.
Mathematics are the key tool that has made planetary exploration and astronomical interpretation possible. The only idea more appealing than knowing what is out there, is visiting the stars ourselves. When we do visit the stars, math will make that possible as well.
Humans low air fares airline london england have been observing the stars long before the invention of the Hubble telescope and spectroscopy. Mathematical techniques have been used to perform complex calculations to predict eclipses and other heavenly low air fares airline london england events. In fact, many famous low air fares airline london england astronomers were also mathematicians. One of the core elements of studying the stars is spherical low air fares airline london england trigonometry. This mathematical science allows astronomers to project the spherical heavens onto a flat surface for mapping.
Some of the first tools for measuring heavenly positions came along when longitude and latitude were developed for calculating global positions relative to the Sun's motion. Today we use these systems for measuring the position of any object on Earth. The most critical part to doing this calculation involved the use of a maritime clock called a chronometer. John Harrison and Edmund Halley were a principle contributors low air fares airline london england in this measuring tool.
Some of the greatest breakthroughs in mathematics came while trying to study the stars. Some of these include the invention of zero, solutions to triangulation problems, techniques for the measurement of angles and predictive tools for the Moon's visibility. Most of the these techniques involve geometry, trigonometry and algebra. Mathematics enjoys a rich history in astronomy as the two disciplines are heavily intertwined.
Interestingly enough, several of the older trigonometric techniques for predicting planetary positions were made into tables for calculations. Kepler studied these tables and devised his laws of planetary motion from them. It is interesting low air fares airline london england how each scientist builds the future low air fares airline london england from past, one observation at a time. Mathematics is essentially the basis of ancient, middle age and modern astronomy. slide 4 of 4 References