Unit 9--Space

The solar system has been a fascination of humans for centuries; since ancient times, 6 of the 8 currently listed planets have been known and studied by man. We have looked to the planets and stars to find meaning in our own lives. All the planets aside from Earth received their names from Roman Gods and Goddesses, showing the lasting cultural importance of our solar system. Mercury, for example, is symbolically the winged God of Travel due to its fast movement; Venus is the beautiful Goddess of Love; Mars, the God of War; Jupiter is the Chief God, or king of the gods; Saturn, the Roman God of Agriculture; Uranus was the former God of the Sky; Neptune, the Lord of the Sea; and Pluto (not considered a real planet anymore) was known as the Lord of the underworld.  

Botticelli's representation of Roman Goddess Venus

Polish Astronomer Nicolai Copernicus was hugely influential in how people see the solar system.  For 2000 years, Aristotle and Ptolemy's view that Earth was at the center of the universe was the Western ideal.  Copernicus' heliocentric model in the 16th century during the European Renaissance gave rise to our modern view that the sun is at the center and is revolved around by the planets, with the sun's gravity keeping planets within their orbits.  

Nanotechnology and Space merge in a number of ways, one of which involves Buckyballs in space. "Sudbury Buckyballs" (buckyballs are soccer-ball-like molecules with 60 C atoms) with "extra-terrestrial origin" came nearly 2 billion years ago and arrived on Earth, near Ontario, completely intact. Evidence like this has been showing that comets and meteorites likely helped to create life on Earth because they supplied important organic compounds as they bombarded our home planet.  

        Works Cited

"The Copernican Model: A Sun-Centered Solar System." The Copernican Model: A Sun-Centered 
SolarSystem. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/retrograde/copernican.html>.


"Study of the Solar System." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40047/astronomy/257779/Study-of-the-solar-system>.

"How the PlanetsGot Their Names." How the Planets Got Their Names. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://rome.mrdonn.org/romangods/planets.html>.