Larger, Higher, More Expensive...From Simple Tools to the Telescope of the Nineties

Abstract

The beginnings of systematic observations of the heavens go back to the third millenium B.C., when Sumerians and Babylonians reflected on the connections between the positions of the stars, the seasons, and other terrestrial events. Everywhere astronomy was needed to measure time, mark the seasons, and guide farmers in their work. In Egypt, the appearance of Sirius marked the beginning of the annual Nile floods. In Central America and China, astronomy and calendrical systems were highly developed.