The Skies

I am taking an astronomy class these days from 8am to 5pm!  I have learned enough today that I can write about them for at least a month on a daily basis.  However, now I am too tired to write about the more sophisticated lessons and historical stories of astronomy.  I just go over some interesting trivia!

The class started on a sad note:  that humans 40,000 years ago were much more familiar with the skies than we are.  Most people used the sky at least as their clock, map, and calendar. You could ask any random person to show you a particular star or constellation  on a dark sky, and that person could quickly do that.  It is hard to imagine a random person these days passes this test.  I myself cannot locate famous stars and planets naturally.  Can you?  I should work on that.

So, here are the trivia:

1) "Moon" is from the Greek word Metron meaning to measure!  As it was mainly used to measure different things in old times.
2) "Clock" is a German word meaning Bell, since traditional clocks were made of bells.  Remember these?
, and finally
3) Brahe was a Danish astronomer who became the first federally funded researcher.  He has funny stories.  Maybe  I tell you sometime.

Till then,
Good night!