Big Blue Disk 25/bbd25.zip/ASTRO.TXT

Text File | 1988-08-12 | 3KB | 49 lines

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|A║ ^0Brainware |A║═══════════════════ ^1Astronomy Quiz |A═══════════════════║ ^0Brainware |A║
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^Cby
^CScott Miller

   Ever since the earliest caveman started gazing at the sky, mankind has been
interested in the celestial bodies.  The relationships of the positions of the
sun, moon, and stars to important natural cycles such as day and night, low and
high tide, summer and winter, caused the ancients to become expert at charting
astronomical data.  Since these cycles affected people's lives greatly, many
theorized that celestial bodies would affect one's life in other ways; this gave
rise to astrology.  Though astrology is now discredited due to its lack of
scientific basis (Nancy Reagan's use of horoscopes notwithstanding), the
detailed charting it required led to many astronomical discoveries throughout
the ancient era.

   With the coming of the Renaissance, astronomy came into its own as a dynamic
science, completely separate from any mysticism.  Scientists such as Galileo,
Copernicus, and Newton began to discover that the universe was a larger and more
complex place than the ancients had thought (a concept that didn't sit well with
religious authorities of the time who felt that the Earth was the center of the
universe).  It was ultimately shown (despite the beliefs the Flat Earth Society
continues to hold) that the earth revolves around the sun, and the sun in turn
is only one of billions of stars making up our galaxy; and the galaxy itself is
only one of billions like it in a universe so large that it would take light
billions of years to cross it.  (I'm sounding like Carl Sagan there, with all
those "billions," but that's the only way to describe the vastness of the
universe.)

   The 20th century brought newer and more mystifying theories, and the modern
universe is now populated with quasars, pulsars, and black holes.  There are
many, often contradictory, theories about how it all came to exist and how it
will ultimately end.  British scientist Stephen Hawking (who is tragically
suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease, and is presently unable to speak and write
and must hence transcribe his thoughts laboriously via a computerized point-and-
click device) is presently working on a unified theory to explain the nature of
the universe, reconciling quantum mechanics with Einstein's relativity.

   This quiz will let you know how well versed you are on astronomical concepts.
Are you reaching for the stars, or will you be left behind on the ground?

   To run this program outside BIG BLUE DISK, type: ^1PASRUN ASTRO^0.

DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
^FASTRO.CHN
^FPASRUN.COM
^FRETURN.CHN