In July, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of this great nation. This momentous event occurred during, and because of, the ideas espoused during the Enlightenment Period of the late 17th to late 18th centuries. The development of the concepts of natural rights, freedom, and reason gave way to the rejection of the absolute power of monarchies and superstition-driven science. Instead, this period saw the development of the scientific method and the notion of a social contract between the rulers and the ruled.
Many scientific breakthroughs occurred in astronomy, physics, and chemistry, which led to the establishment of first scientific journals. Astronomy went from a descriptive science to one employing the rigors of physics and celestial mechanics. By 1776, Charles Messier had published an early version of his Messier Catalogue of deep sky objects while others were busy applying Newton’s Laws of Physics to the movement of the planets in our solar system. At the time, only 5 of the planets were known: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Uranus would not be discovered by William Herschel until 5 years later (coinciding with the end of the American Revolution). Even in colonial America, David Rittenhouse had developed his famous orrery (mechanical model of the solar system), that could accurately simulate the movements of the planets 5000 years into the past or the future. Another of his achievements was the observation of the transit of Venus in 1769. His observations and those of 22 other telescope stations in the colonies enabled him to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun to be approximately 93 million miles, the accepted value today!
In honor of these events, Skyscrapers will hold a celebration on Saturday, July 11 at Seagrave Memorial Observatory with food, presentations from our members, and stargazing if the weather permits (see details in this newsletter). Come celebrate not only the birth of our country, but the wonderful period in which so many concepts we hold dear established their beginning and led to the development of our modern society and the hobby that we all enjoy.
