How the World Works: Astronomy

For thousands of years, the stars, planets, Moon and Sun were central to religious and superstitious beliefs. Astronomy has its origins in the context of these beliefs. From this starting point, scientific thinking emerged as humans began to seek explanations for the existence of celestial bodies that did not rely on the supernatural. In the 17th century, the invention of the telescope marked a watershed, opening the heavens to scrutiny and revealing that the planets are other worlds. The w...