Astronomy has had an important influence on many aspects of past civilizations. Culture, agricultural farming, education, film, and communication industry as well as medicine have used astronomy widely. The knowledge of time as well as differentiating different seasons has depended on astronomy to a great degree, especially in many developing countries. This paper addresses the influence of astronomy on civilization focusing on agriculture, education, medicine and industrialization.
Astronomy and Agriculture
Different times of planting, even to this civilized world, have been relying on astronomy to know when the seasons are suitable to plant different crops suited for various ecological zones. The appearance of the full moon in most cases defined the appearance of a dry period suitable for harvesting cereal crops (Rosenberg et al., 2017). Many rural communities still rely on observing the celestial bodies such as the sun to know when it is time to return home from grazing or take the animals to the grazeland. Among many rural communities, where telecommunication gadgets are either inaccessible or the farmers are illiterate, the direct observance of the sky for understanding times and seasons is indispensable. Crops, trees, and all green vegetation must undergo photosynthesis to produce food. This process requires energy from the sun except in greenhouses.
The influence of astronomy in agriculture is great. Scientific advances in astronomy have led to the development of agricultural disciplines such as climate-smart agriculture, which entails cultivation with the aim of maximum production having environmental conservation in mind. In that regard, the farmers are to incorporate scientific information from weather stations to make the right decisions in farming. The farmers can avoid harsh climate and limit their production during suitable weather. There has been advancement in weather forecasting and weather stations that come up with information that advises the farmers appropriately. These scientific advances have greatly improved agricultural production and reduced losses due to unreliable weather. The traditional method of observing astronomy has been challenged by the changing climate across the globe due to global warming, which has notably defied the norm.
Astronomy and Education
In the classroom, astronomy provides an alternative approach to study, that is, observation scientific learning method. This approach is highly advocated for in the modern improved learning curriculum. Science is studied as a subject in both lower and higher-grade classes across many nations. Astronomy has been used to illustrate various concepts, mostly in physics and geography (Bigg & Vanhoutte, 2017). Concepts such as eclipse, gravity, inertia, galaxy, light, and spectra. The learners are mostly fascinated when their teacher can demonstrate to them how objects thrown above the surface cannot remain suspended in the atmosphere due to the influence of gravitational forces. When the driver suddenly stops while driving at high speed, then inertia is illustrated with enjoyment. When the learners are asked to wake up during a clear night to observe the constellation of stars, then their understanding of galaxies is well understood.
The observance of stars and eclipses of the moon during the learning period of learners are used to enhance the practical approach to learning. The learners are, therefore, able to relate theoretical knowledge to what can be seen. The above concepts have for a long time held the backbone of physics and geography and are still there to this day. Scientific advancement has used these concepts to expand scientific explorations to organizations such as NASA. According to Astronomy, the fascinating stories of astronomy today are derived from explorations of other celestial bodies, such as the one last exploration of planet mars. The scientists raised hopes that there could be some form of life on mars overruling previous studies and hence opening a door for future advanced explorative research. The concepts are, however, much limited to certain disciplines, and not all learners may be interested in pursuing science-related careers and therefore are excluded from subjects. Religion has contrasted with some of these concepts leading to many learners shying away from these contradicting concepts.
From Astronomy to Industry and Medicine
Technology has become the heartbeat of modern-day business, industry, and medical operations. In the communication and photography industry, the film called Kodak can be traced in astronomy. It was used to record the external appearance of the surface of the sun (Omonov & Karimov, 2020). The introduction of monitoring hidden cameras installed on premises has facilitated the arrest of many criminals globally. This has therefore helped to curb theft and settle criminal cases essentially. The installation of cameras in mobile phones has boosted the telecommunication industry. Phones can now be graded according to the quality of the cameras’ resolution power: the higher the resolution, the clearer the image, and the higher the quality of the gadget. This has also enhanced document scanning.
The webcam feature in computers and laptops has played a key role in the development of applications such as ZOOM and GOOGLE CLASSROOM, where video conferencing has been made possible and used to conduct various online meetings. These technologies are very important however, only the computer literate have the advantage to the utilization of these resources. Due to the rising cases of cyber-crimes, there are possibilities of interference of the software, applications, or hardware structures of these gadgets which limit their efficiency. Therefore, some degree of misinformation may be experienced.
The medical field has been greatly invigorated with the introduction of machines and gadgets that uses radiation to investigate the root cause of sicknesses making services more efficient, reliable, and faster. Astronomy was used in the invention of rays such as gamma and X-rays, among others. Technological research has been employed to convert this knowledge into great wealth. The establishment of X-ray centers and CT scan centers make it easy to get instant diagnoses of sicknesses that would have taken much time to be recognized in the past. Radiography, a field in medicine and treatment, depends on these rays, among others, in observing and studying living cells and tissues. Adaptive optics that is commonly used in astronomy has been intensively used in the imaging and identification of certain diseases. (Bigg & Vanhoutte, 2017). The coordination with the computer industry makes it even much faster. There is however some health risk associated with heavy exposure to these radioactive rays and therefore skillful measures are required to regulate the use of these radiations. Moreover, the management of these medical centers require highly skilled personnel who require special training and this require more time and resources which may be limited in many developing countries
Conclusion
The important influence of astronomy on many aspects of past civilizations has a wide scope. The contribution it has on farming has led to the establishment of weather stations hence opening up various levels of employment. The information obtained from these stations is very vital towards high agricultural production and is key in averting risks and uncertainties due to weather constraints. Furthermore, the contribution of astronomy in the education sector cannot be underestimated. Scientists have their basic foundation in science subjects and consequently the establishment of research centers, organizations, and space exploration organizations. This has also led to the creation of many jobs and economic empowerment, as well as forming the basis for future research. The field of medicine, communication, and film industry have demonstrated much borrowing from astronomy. Right from the film industry to imaging, the optimization of the rays and film has gone a long way to boost the ease of services given, increased efficiency, and overall productivity. The modern civilization had to borrow from astronomy to come up with devices that are more competitive, reliable, and goal-oriented devices as well as promoting scientific study. In this way, record keeping has boosted and many crimes averted through CCTV cameras where the movements and activities are recorded in places where they have been installed.
References
Astronomy – History, and impact of astronomy. (2021). Stars, Universe, Century, and Celestial – J. Rank Articles. Web.
Bigg, C. & Vanhoutte, K. (2017). Spectacular astronomy, early popular visual culture, 15:2, 115-124, DOI: 10.1080/17460654.2017.1319037.
Omonov, Q., & Karimov, N. (2020). Importance of ancestral heritage. The American Journal of Social Science and Education Innovations, 2(09), 196-202.
Rosenberg, M., Russo, P., Bladon, G., & Christensen, L. L. (2017). Astronomy in everyday life. Communicating Astronomy to the Public Journal, 14, 30-36.