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The Egyptians built huge pyramids and temples based on astronomical positions. For example the great pyramid of Giza was built to align with the north star which at the time was Thuban instead of Polaris. -
Nabta Playa is where a circular stone structure can be found that is presumed to be a giant calendar to identify the summer solstice. -
They divided the sky into 12 sections. They were also able to predict lunar eclipses and solar. The tool was called the saros cycle and this is the period of 223 synodic months after which lunar and solar eclipse repeat themselves. -
Abu Mahmud Hamid Ibn Khidr Al-Khujandi was a astronomer who built a sextant with the purpose of calculating the earths axis -
The andromeda galaxy was first described in Azophi's book. The book of fixed stars -
A Dunhuang star atlas was discovered by and archaeologist in a bhuddist cave in dunhuang china. It is the earliest known preserved star map. -
Gan de was first to take notice of Ganymede which he described as a small reddish star around jupiter -
Brahmagupta calculated the duration of the solar year with great accuracy and developed methods to forecast the positions of the planets -
Pythagoras postulated that the earth is spherical in shape. He was also the first to suggest that the movement of the planets, sun, moon, and stars could be equated in numbers. -
Aryabhatiya was able to presume that the earth is rotating on its axis and that the moon and other planets shine through reflected light from the sun. The indians began to veer away from the mystical and religous beliefs and towards scientific -
The Mayans invented the shadow casting device which is used to study the motion of the stars, sun, and other planets -
The Mayans developed a precise calendar to keep track of the passage of time -
Eratosthenes excelled in astronomy, geography, mathematics, Poetry, and music as well. His most important contribution was his calculation of the earths circumference. He was also responsible for calculating the tilt of earths axis.