Midterm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Midterm - Essay Example Brahe also considered the nature of comets as objects of the translunar space and not a phenomenon of the atmosphere as postulated by Aristotle. He established this nature of comets by severally measuring the lower limit of the lunar distance for a given comet. He observed a supernova and proved stellar skies are not impossible to change as was previously depicted (Goddu, 2010). Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer used the Mars observations made by Brahe to establish the movement of planets around the sun on elliptical orbits. Kepler derived his three laws relating to motions of the planets. The first law was that each planet’s orbit is an ellipse with the sun in a single focus. The second law concerned the radius vector from the planet to sun that sweeps equal areas every time. This means that the movement of the planet is faster when it is close to the sun. The third law affirms that the average distance from the sun in relation to all the planets is proportional to the squ ares of the periods of revolution (Goddu, 2010). Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer discovered Jupiter’s four bright satellites. These include the mountains on the moon, the spots on the sun and Saturn’s rings. Additionally, he found the nebula as a cluster of stars. Galileo’s discoveries followed the invention of telescopes that enabled him make these observations of the sky. Based on Kepler’s laws, it was evident that the sun generates some force that acts on planets. Isaac Newton provided the understanding of this force through the law of gravity. This formed ground of the development of celestial mechanisms to sophisticated science. The gravitational force accounts for the failure of planets to fall into the moon and the crashing of the moon into the earth (Goddu, 2010). The geocentric view was popular for long because it explained many observations made by the early Greeks. The geocentric model explained the reason behind things falling towards t he earth and the reason for Venus maintaining the same distance from the earth based on the unchanging brightness. The geometric view is due to inadequate technology to facilitate effectiveness of research in astronomy. This implies that science relies heavily on technological advances (Goddu, 2010). Question 2 The relationship of geography and science lies in the nature of the environment, diversity and social decision-making. Geography provides a theoretical basis for understanding nature and development. Geography is the study of the earth with its related features, general research and effects of human activities. It includes study of the climate, soil, topography and vegetation. Geosciences comprise of all the sciences that study the evolution, structure and dynamics of earth and resources. The strength of geography comes from its functional interrelationship to other disciplines. However, geography promotes a holistic understanding that is simple and does not provide vital det ails of cause and effect to a phenomenon (McEntire, 2007). Question 3 Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere at a given geographical location and time. It varies greatly over hours, days, weeks and distance. Climate is the average weather conditions prevailing in a region over a long period (Ahrens & Samson, 2010). Climate change relates to both greenhouse effect and global warming. Global warming is the global average temperature of the surface. Greenhouse effect is a natural system that regulates the