Astronomy poses many of the same questions that religion does, the deepest questions a human being can ask: What is the universe? How big is it? How did it begin? How will it end? What part do we play in it? Are we alone? Through most of history, in fact, astronomy was part of religion. The astronomers of ancient times usually were priests. Astronomy in the 20th century changed humans' understanding as profoundly as Copernicus and Galileo did. At the start of the century, soon after George Ellery Hale, the first astronomer covered in this book, built his first large telescope, people thought the solar system was essentially at the center of the universe, much as people of Copernicus's time had believed the Earth was. Terjemahan:
Astronomi menimbulkan banyak pertanyaan yang sama bahwa agama tidak, pertanyaan-pertanyaan terdalam manusia dapat bertanya: Apakah alam semesta? Seberapa besar itu? Bagaimana memulainya? Bagaimana ini akan berakhir? Apa bagian kita bermain di dalamnya? Apakah kita sendirian? Melalui sebagian besar sejarah, pada kenyataannya, astronomi merupakan bagian dari agama. Para astronom zaman kuno biasanya menjadi imam. Astronomi pada abad ke-20 mengubah pemahaman manusia 'sebagai sangat seperti Copernicus dan Galileo tidak. Pada awal abad ini, segera setelah George Ellery Hale, astronom pertama yang tercakup dalam buku ini, dibangun teleskop pertama yang besar, orang-orang berpikir tata surya pada dasarnya di pusat alam semesta, sama seperti orang waktu Copernicus telah percaya Bumi itu.
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