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Close encounters in the sky

In the eighth century B.C., Babylonian scholars began systematically observing and writing down celestial phenonema, as they studied astronomyThe study of the physical properties of objects and matter outside Earth's atmosphere.. These scholars watched the motion of the planets and noticed that sometimes two planets came close together. Sometimes the Moon passed in front of the Sun. Sometimes Earth's shadow fell on the Moon. After studying these phenomena for many years, they identified certain experiences as occurring in cyclesOccurence of events that take place on a regular, repeating basis.. They also developed mathematical formulas involving time and distances that helped them to predict eclipses.

Thales of Miletus (624–546 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher who may...

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1. Introduction
2. Close encounters in the sky
3. Celestial line-up
4. Celestial fireworks
5. Project 1 - Simulating Solar and Lunar Eclipses
6. Project 2 - Phases of the Moon: What does each phase look like?
7. Design Your Own Experiment