Colonial American Astronomy facts for kids
Colonial American astronomy began when English settlers arrived in the New World in the 1500s. They brought their interest in the stars and planets with them. At first, their ideas about space were based on old Greek philosophy. This philosophy taught that the Earth was the center of everything.
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Early Stargazing: Thomas Harriot's Discoveries
In the 1580s, an English explorer named Thomas Harriot traveled to North Carolina's Outer Banks. He was a smart astronomer and mathematician. Harriot tried to figure out why many Native Americans were getting sick and dying after meeting the Europeans. He looked at the sky for answers. He saw a solar eclipse and a comet. But he realized these weren't the cause.
In his 1588 report, Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia, Harriot hinted at the real reason. He suggested it was the harsh way the English treated the natives. He also wrote about a "perspective glass" that showed "manie strange sights." This was probably a magnifying lens. Later, back in England, Harriot became one of the first people to use a telescope. He even drew the moon four months before Galileo did!
Harvard College and the Universe
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a new school called New Cambridge started in 1636. Many teachers came from famous universities in England. Like those English schools, New Cambridge taught old ideas about the universe. In 1639, it became Harvard College.
The first president of Harvard, Henry Dunster, taught that Earth was the center of the universe. He said nine clear, round spheres spun around it. This was the "astronomy of the ancients."
However, new ideas began to appear. By 1670, Copernican astronomy (the idea that the Sun is the center) started to emerge at Harvard. In 1671, some students even refused to read a textbook that supported the old Ptolemaic system (Earth-centered). As early as 1659, a Harvard graduate named Zachariah Brigden began sharing these new ideas. He did this through popular books called almanacs.
Almanacs: Your Guide to the Stars
People in the colonies were very interested in astronomy. The first American printing press started at Harvard in 1638. In 1639, Stephen Daye began printing the first almanacs in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These were called An Almanack Calculated for New England.
These almanacs became very popular, especially in New England. They told people about the phases of the moon, tide times, and the best times to plant crops. They also listed religious holidays and explained things about the celestial sphere (the imaginary sphere where stars appear to be).
The Puritans believed that God was a great "geometer" (someone who studies shapes and sizes). They thought God revealed his plan through mathematics. This idea encouraged almanac writers to accept the new astronomy.
Young Harvard graduates often wrote these almanacs. They used them to share essays about Copernican astronomy. For example, Zachariah Brigden from Connecticut wrote about planets revolving around the sun. He also mentioned Jupiter's four moons and Saturn's two moons in his 1659 almanac. Brigden used ideas from an English astronomer named Vincent Wing. Wing was the first to explain the discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler in English. He also made it easier to predict eclipses.
Brigden's almanac started with a quote from Wing. It ended with a short explanation of the Copernican system. This was likely the first science essay written in the American colonies.
Even with new ideas, some old ones remained. Brigden still believed in the "sphere of fixed stars" from the old Ptolemaic system. Some people worried about how the new ideas fit with the Bible. A copy of Brigden's almanac was sent to a Puritan minister, John Davenport. Davenport disagreed with Brigden but allowed him to have his own opinion. He didn't punish Brigden for his new ideas.
In 1661, another Harvard graduate, Samuel Cheever, printed theories from Galileo and Kepler. He also promoted the Copernican ideas. Thomas Brattle, another Harvard graduate, prepared an almanac for 1678. His work showed he was skilled at calculating planetary data.
These rare almanacs show what smart colonists knew about astronomy. They also gave practical information. They listed when the sun and moon would rise and set. They helped sailors and scholars find planets and stars. They correctly predicted eclipses of the sun and moon. They also included lots of weather and historical facts. Often, the last pages of the almanac had short articles promoting the new astronomy.
Royal Society Fellows in America
In England, the Royal Society was a leading group for new scientific ideas. These ideas quickly reached the American colonies. The Royal Society was known for its smart members. They believed that careful observations by educated people were the best way to learn about the world.
The Royal Society had eighteen American members. This shows how much influence it had on science in the colonies. The Society encouraged its members to record the weather and share astronomical observations. They also asked for notes on any other interesting scientific events. John Winthrop the Younger, the son of the first governor of Massachusetts, was one of the first American members.
Winthrop was in London when he became the first colonist elected as a Fellow in 1663. He was a very learned man. He studied law and mastered many new sciences. Winthrop brought an amazing collection of books back to America. He is known as the first chemist and metallurgist in the American colonies. He also studied alchemy and medicine.
Winthrop also studied astronomy using his 3+1⁄2 foot refracting telescope. In 1664, he wrote a letter saying he thought he saw a "fifth satellite of Jupiter." This was only 50 years after Galileo discovered Jupiter's first four moons. Winthrop was careful, thinking it might be a faint star. He asked for his observations to be checked, but they weren't confirmed. Later, a famous astronomer, Edward Emerson Barnard, who discovered Jupiter's fifth moon, Amalthea, was amazed. He said Winthrop's telescope must have been very good to see such a faint object. Today, people think Winthrop probably saw a faint star. But he is still remembered as a dedicated observer of nature.
Thomas Brattle was another talented Puritan who was a Royal Society Fellow. He spent a lot of his money on science. Brattle not only wrote almanacs but also made sky observations. He was praised by Sir Isaac Newton in his famous book Principia for his sharp observations of the Comet of 1680. Brattle also thought, like John Flamsteed, that the comet was one object that changed direction, even though it looked like two. His observation of a solar eclipse in 1694 was published in a scientific journal.
John Winthrop, the grandson of John Winthrop the Younger, became a Royal Society Fellow in 1734. He collected rocks and was good at organizing them. In astronomy, Winthrop observed the 1761 transit of Venus in St. Johns, Newfoundland. His observations were also published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
David Rittenhouse was a Royal Society Fellow and a founding member of the American Philosophical Society (started in 1741). As a teenager, he mastered Newton's Principia. He also built amazing clocks, orreries (models of the solar system), and other science tools. Many believe he built the first telescope and observatory in America. From his observatory, Rittenhouse observed the 1769 Venus Transit. His report was published in the American Philosophical Society's Transactions.
Puritans and Science
Some historians believe that the Puritan religion played a big role in the growth of science in England and America. Dorothy Stimson, Richard Foster Jones, and Robert K. Merton all wrote about this idea. Merton noticed that many Puritans were members of the Royal Society. He also linked the "Protestant work ethic" to the rise of capitalism.
The idea was that doing scientific work was a type of "good work." This belief encouraged Puritans to work hard in science. They wanted to understand the universe's design and show the power of the "Great Geometer" (God). Exploring "God’s great mechanism" was seen as a perfect way for Puritans to do good work.
