Who were the BIGGEST contributors to astronomy (preferably old-timers) and what significant equations did they discover? Its a project for work. We just want to make sure we haven't overlooked anyone. So far the only ones I can be sure of are Newton and Galileo.

 

Thanks

By far in my opinion the Astronomer that contributed most to the field of Astronomy was Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus was the man that proposed the heliocentric theory. He sparked the Copernican revolution which would change how the world viewed the universe. Copernicus' major theory was published in the book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) Before him the most widley viewed theory was the geocentric theory.

 

Some more important Astronomers:

Galeleio

Tycho Brahe

(known for his amazingly accurate observations)

Johannes Kepler

(established the most exact astronomical tables then known; established the three laws of planetary motion)

Edmond Halley

(used his theory of cometary orbits to predict that the comet of 1682 (later named ``Halley's comet'') was periodic)

 

Hope this helps you.

How about the thousands of anonymous, neolithic, priest/shamen observers who focused the collective resources of stone age societies toward our possible destiny among the stars?

 

aguy2