In 1584, Giordano Bruno proposed
that stars were objects similar to our
Sun. This stimulated astronomers to
start recording and measuring
differences in the fluorescence of
stars. They eventually discovered that
the stars had changed positions since
they were first recorded by the ancient
Greek astronomers in the 2nd and 3rd
centuries BCE.
For over six centuries (from the
recovery of ancient learning during the late
Middle Ages into the Enlightenment), the
Roman Catholic Church gave more
financial and social support to the
study of astronomy than prob
ably all other institutions. Among the
Church's motives was finding the date
for Easter.
The SN 1006 supernova, the
brightest stellar event in recorded
history, was observed by Egyptian and
Chinese astronomers in 1006.
Richard of Wallingford (1292–
336) made major contributions to
astronomy including the invention of
the first astronomical clock, the
Rectangulus, which allowed for the
measurement of the angles between
planets and other astronomical bodies.
Astronomy through the Middle Ages
Jean Buridan (1300-1361)
developed the theory of impetus
(predecessor to the modern scientific
theory of inertia) which was able to
show that the planets were capable of
motion without the intervention of
angels.