The Story of Astronomy: From plotting the stars to pulsars and black holes

'Astronomy, as nothing else can do, teaches men humility.'
Arthur C. Clarke, The Challenge of the Spaceship

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 - explanations that did not rely on the supernatural. In the 17th century, the invention o...