We live in a Universe which is huge and expanding.
No doubt humans have always looked up into the night sky and wondered what all those little dots of light were.
Our knowledge of the Universe comes from the centuries of recordings of astronomers [people who study specific things in the universe].
Todays astrophysicists [who study how the universe originated] like Professor Brian Cox publish their findings in books, on television or on the internet.
They have all been helped by a series of inventions and technologies the first being the telescope in the 1600s [not know by whom].
The invention of the camera [daguerreotype] in the 1880s by Louis Daguerre meant that "pictures" could be "taken" and stored.
The development of ground based radio telescopes from the 1950s allowed the tracking of planets.
The use of ultra-violet, infra-red and x-ray wave lengths led to the same "pictures" showing different images.
The launch in the 1970s of the satellites Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 which are still sending back pictures to radio telescopes.
With the launch of the Hubble telescope from the Shuttle in 1990 meant we had a telescope in space.
The Hubble telescope has taken pictures which have changed our view of our Solar System and of the origins of our Universe.
Perhaps the most incredible is that of the nebula called "Pillars of Creation". A nebula are clouds of dust and gas where stars are formed.
Then in 2022 the James Webb telescope was launched into space.............
...............and the pictures were even more amazing of Cartwheel galaxies.
So what should you have learned?.....
That the Universe is huge and expanding.
That we gained most of our knowledge from people called astronomers.
That inventions and new technologies have helped our understanding.
That being able to capture and store images lets more people access that knowledge.
That the Hubble telescope has allowed us to look further out into Space.
That nebula are clouds of dust and gas where stars are formed.
Then came the James Webb telescope that showed us what Cartwheel Galaxies look like.
............ there is still much more to learn.
That we gained most of our knowledge from people called astronomers.
That inventions and new technologies have helped our understanding.
That being able to capture and store images lets more people access that knowledge.
That the Hubble telescope has allowed us to look further out into Space.
That nebula are clouds of dust and gas where stars are formed.
Then came the James Webb telescope that showed us what Cartwheel Galaxies look like.
............ there is still much more to learn.
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