P6+19th+Century+KNowledge+of+Space



19 th Century Knowledge of Space

Albert Phillips

Space was something seen as too far to reach, but Jules Verne and From the Earth To the Moon made space travel seem somewhat realistic. Most thought of it as it as something distant that no one would ever be able to reach. This was one of the first books that was written about space. It was not a serious book but entailed the story of a person whom was put in a bullet and was shot and landed on the moon. This book would become very famous and would inspire H. G. Wells in many of his books. Not many people believed this to be true and along with the fact it was a humorous book this was not taken seriously. It did on the other hand made people think, what getting to the moon would take, what would be required? Jules Verne would write other books but none as famous as this one. They discuss weird theories and radical ideas; they did not just discuss space but things such as time travel and deep-sea adventures. He is seen as the father of science fiction but a large amount of people.

Works Cited

""The Space Age Turns 50 - Ideas of Space Flight from the Early 20th Century" Early

Science Fiction." //"The Space Age Turns 50 - Ideas of Space Flight from the Early//

//20th Century" Early Science Fiction//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013.

"Jules Verne: Collecting the Books and Ephemera of French Author Jules Verne - A

Nash." //Jules Verne: Collecting the Books and Ephemera of French Author Jules//

//Verne – A Nash//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013.

AIM- William Gover

Term- 19th Century Knowledge of Space

Current Beliefs



Space has been a huge interest throughout the lives of mankind. For thousands of years people have looked up into the sky with wonder, always trying to figure out the mystery of space. In the 19th century many breakthroughs occurred including the technology used to see stars and planets. A new type of lens was created so that astronomers could now see farther into the abyss (Clerke). Not only that but at that time the knowledge of space was being used more for mathematics and physics. Using a mathematical equation called the Titius- Bode Law astronomers were able to find asteroids (ROG). The current belief of the 19th century knowledge of space is they event that occurred within that time period were innovative. Those ideas were what paved the way for the current space advances. Such new ideas at that time allowed for Neil Armstrong to take those first steps upon the barren surface of the moon.

Works Cited Clerke, Agnes. "Golden Era of Refractors (Cosmology: Tools)." //Golden Era of Refractors (Cosmology: Tools)//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. ROG Learning Team. "Astronomy in the 19th Century : Royal Observatory & History of Astronomy : Astronomy Fact Files : Astronomy & Time : Explore Online : RMG." //Astronomy in the 19th Century : Royal Observatory & History of Astronomy : Astronomy Fact Files : Astronomy & Time : Explore Online : RMG//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013.



19th Century Knowledge of Space

Dylan Schmidt

Not many people during the 19th century, didn't have much of an imagination when it came to space, they merely saw it as a mysterious black sky filled with lights. Religion sculpted society, many people didn't question the thought of the night sky and had no intention of discovering what could be beyond the clouds. William Wallace Campbell an Astronomer and a Director of Lick Observatory had the fascinating idea of extraterrestrial life. The idea gave the average person an out of this world idea of other life that can be in this universe giving the people an imagination taking the thought of a black empty sky to a whole new limit. H.G. Wells' " War of the Worlds" starts off explaining the human races knowledge on space, " Few people realize the immensity of vacancy in which the dust of the material universe swims" (Wells 12). This quote basically states that the average person doesn't understand the size of the universe, it is infinite to scientist and unlimited amount of space giving it the name "space". This expresses the average persons thought on space during that time, it was an idea that wasn't deemed possible for the human race. As some religions teach that there is only one living species (Human Race), this halted the idea from many people that were strongly attached to their religion. There are many different ideas that people had during the 19th century on space, comics and movies were made from this idea and it is a sign that has allowed those people who had no imagination to have one. The knowledge of space during the 19th century was judge by many different social groups but to the average person it was a new world.  Work Cited:

Campbell, William W. "The biological universe: The twentieth century extraterrestrial life debate and the limits of science". Cambridge. Cambridge University press, 1999. Print.

Wells, H. G. The War of the Worlds. New York: Epstein and Carroll Associates]; Distributed by Random House, 1960. Print.


Emerging Theories- Emily Lovelace

Some of the emerging theories from the 19th century, were the thoughts that space may have life apart from just on Earth. People really started to believe in the possibility that there may be life on other planets, most commonly thought of was Mars. This supposed "life on mars" theory was first observed by the scientist William Whewell. He represented Trinity college, and together they proposed the thought of things such as: water, plants, and even life not only existing, but thriving on Mars. "Telescopic observations of the supposed Martian channels, in the 19th century strengthened the belief that life could prevail on mars" (Oak). Another emerging idea from the 19th century, was the idea that Martian life was supported by these "martian channels". These channels were believed to be like river channels, and that mars was the ability for people on Earth to be able to see what early life was like for them before, or their ability to look into the future. People all over were trying to determine which one of the they were, and they wanted to know more. This desire for knowledge led to the exploration into space, like never before. "Schaperilli's atlas of Martian Canals captivated the imagination of Percival Lowell who greatly popularized the idea of life on Mars" (Oregon). Both of these radical ideas, came from the ability to change what could be seen, and changed what was believed by people all over.

Works Cited "Mars." //Mars//. University of Oregon, 18 May 2011. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. Oak, Manali. "Existence of Life On Mars." //Buzzle.org.// N.p., 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 11 Jan. 2013.