Earth Science and Society Essay

The other four major contributors to the development of modern astronomy after Copernicus are Galileo, Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton. Galileo Galilei supported Copernicus’ ideas and was the one who devised the early telescope that was able to enlarge objects up to 20 times. With the use of this telescope, he was able to prove the heliocentric theory proposed by Copernicus. Tycho Brahe is a Danish astronomer who focused on developing astronomical instruments as well as measuring and fixing the position of stars accurately before the telescope was invented. Johannes Kepler focused on determining the movement of the planets and his laws paved way to the concept of orbits as planetary paths. Isaac Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation further established how planets were able to revolve around the sun and how they moved in an orbit through the pull of gravity. It took a long time to overthrow the geocentric theory because it was backed up by the church and the existing rulers at that time. Those who deviated from the beliefs of the majority were persecuted and thrown to prisons. Only a brave few stood against these people in order to prove them wrong and discover the truth. It only tells us that society doesn’t accept the truth with open arms most of the time, as it is hard to break the preconceived knowledge about things. Discoveries such as the heliocentric theory took a very long time to be accepted by the people, especially because it replaced a more divine theory that the Earth was the center of everything in the universe. Geography is split broadly into two sub-disciplines which are human geography and physical geography. Physical geography is focused primarily on the built environment and how space is created, viewed, as well has managed and handled by man, considering the influences that humans have on the space they created and occupied. Physical geography on the other hand, deals with the natural environment and how other factors like climate, vegetation and life, soil, water and landforms are created and interact with each other. Geography can be best defined as the study of the earth and its features, including everything contained in it, like the ones inhabiting the earth and the different phenomena occurring in it. Geography’s strengths mainly rely on its different branches, as it seeks to cover most concerns regarding the earth. On the other hand, its weaknesses was that it is not able to fully explain a certain field often, which is why there is a need to study other subfields of geography in order to cover for that weakness. The weather is a set of all the phenomena of a given atmosphere considering a certain period of time. This more on a short term basis, usually for hours or days say for example today it rained, while yesterday, it was just fairly cloudy. This is in comparison to that of climate, which is the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time, usually months, accounting for the seasons that we experience all throughout the year. The greenhouse effect is the process wherein there is the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere which then warms the earth’s surface. On the other hand, global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the air near the surface of the earth, because of the heat trapped by various gases in the atmosphere, as caused by pollutants like burning of fuels, smoke, and more. The two concepts are not the same, but the relationship between the two is that because of the greenhouse gases (too much of it) the heat trapped in the atmosphere increases, thus causing global warming. The effect on the environment is drastic, as polar icecaps melt, thus increasing the water levels in different parts of the world. It also changes the patterns of the environment, like the seasons, and the climates at different places. It greatly affects our lives because we might be experiencing a possible cause of species extinction, not only for the animals, but also for us human beings. Pressure gradient force is the acceleration of air due to an impending pressure difference or a force per unit of mass. This usually accelerates air from a high pressure area or region towards a low pressure region thus creating wind. The coriolis effect is the apparent deflection of moving objects when it is viewed from a certain frame of reference. The effect causes air in the atmosphere and water in the ocean to flow to the right of the direction north of the equator, thus causing the rotation of large cyclones. Frictional force is the force resisting the relative motion of two surfaces which are in contact, or a certain fluid in contact with a surface (such as air on an airplane or water flowing in a pipe. California’s Mediterranean climate is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. On the other hand, South Carolina’s humid subtropical climate is characterized by hot humid summers and chilly to mild winters. The United States have varying climates from the eastern part because of the bodies of water surrounding it. It can be explained by the El Nino, wherein large circulations of air across the Pacific Ocean breaks down, and warmer than normal waters appears in the eastern Pacific, while colder than normal waters appears in the western Pacific Ocean.