History Of Understanding the Science of Meteors
When did scientists first begin to understand what "falling stars" really were? What did humans originally believe about those flashing lights that darted across the night sky -- and who were the scientific individuals who made and recorded the first accurate observations of meteors? These issues and others related to meteors will be presented in this paper.
Brief Review of Ancient Beliefs about Meteors
Author Tamra Andrews explains in her book Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky, that ancient people apparently associated meteors with evil. In particular, Tamara writes, "people believed these flaming rock fragments were demons" that were flying down to earth for "some malevolent reason" (Andrews, 2000, p. 123). Some ancient civilizations had a fear of fire and as Andrews mentions, seeing a "strange occurrence in the sky" seemed to be upsetting the universe in some way so it was a cause for a "sense of doom" (123).
To some ancient peoples, the meteor falling from the sky might have been Thor, the Norse thunder god, hurling a hammer from deep space, Andrews explained. The Mongols of China -- when they found meteorites that had made it to earth -- used the rocks as tools, and ancient peoples in Scandinavia believed the rocks that made it to earth were pieces of "Thor's hammer" (Andrews, 123). The Hindu peoples believed that meteors offered a link to "the severed body of Rahu, the eclipse demon" and the Native Americans in California believed that meteors were from the moon -- calling them the "moon's children" (Andrews, 123). In Queensland ancient people thought the meteors represented "the ropes their dead relatives used to climb to Heaven, and then dropped when they arrived safely" (Andrews, 123).
Science...
There is even conjecture that ancient civilizations may have, …spotted an orbit that will culminate in a collision with Earth in 2012. This is easily the most predictable disaster for 2012. With recent discussion of "dark comets," we have become aware of the possibility of our planet being struck with little or no warning." (2012 Possibilities) Another possibility that has been mentioned by some scientists is the possibility of a
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