Just 100 years ago, the nature of the milky way and the universe itself was still a matter of debate. Shapley and curtis the great debate teaching resources. Its been a century since heber curtis and harlow shapley had a spirited. This video is part of the online 100th anniversary celebration of the shapley curtis great debate in astronomy in 1920. Terms in this set 8 the shapley curtis great debate of 1920 was about. Heres what nonetheless encapsulated a very pressing question. The great debate of shapley and curtis 100 years later its been a century since heber curtis and harlow shapley had a spirited debate about the true nature of the cosmos. In shapley s model, the sun is far from the center of the galaxy, while curtis located the sun near its center. Despite the immortalization of the shapley curtis debate, while the great debate might have been overhyped, it it was never really a debate to begin with. Curtisshapley curtisshapley debate 1920this text is. Spiral nebulas shapley spiral nebulas are in our neighborhood.
Harlow shapley, who was known for his estimation of the extent of milkway galaxy represented the side that thought that the spiral nebulae were subgalactic structures inside our milkyway galaxy. You can also relive the debate by reading our factcheckfilled live blog, or skip straight to the jokes with the 65 best debateinspired tweets. This month in physics history aps physics aps home. Curtis shapley debate 1920 this text is taken from the web. Define the boldfaced vocabulary terms within the chapter. Harlow shapley mount wilson observatory and herber d. The great debate, an influential debate on the future of radiation oncology between leading. It concerned the nature of socalled spiral nebulae and the size of the universe. Republican candidate john curtis speaks during a debate at the utah valley convention center friday, july 28, 2017, in provo, utah. The great debate of 1920 in 1920, the academy was the scene of what has come to be called the great debate over the scale of the universe. Jun 16, 2014 the aftermath of the debate was presented in dual papers in the bulletin of the astronomical society in 1921 and was in many ways a draw both shapley and curtis claimed victory at some point. Jul 14, 2016 shapley and curtis the great debate lesson plan template and teaching resources.
Listen to a stimulating debate between the reverand al sharpton and god is not great author christopher hitchens. Following the 1920 great debate between the astronomers harlow shapley and heber curtis, observations by edwin hubble definitively showed that the milky way is just one of manynow known to be billionsof galaxies. Until about 80 years ago it was by no means clear that there were galaxies other than the milky way. It took place in 1920 between harlow shapley and heber curtis, two of the leading astronomers of the time.
Feb 20, 2016 this confusion resulted in the shapley curtis debate in 1920. The actual debate the actual curtisshapley debate at the 1920 meeting of the national academy of science was not a formal debate, but rather presentations of two different viewpoints, followed by comments from the audience. To read some more about the shapleycurtis debate, click on the following. In astronomy, the great debate, also called the shapley curtis debate, was an influential debate between the astronomers harlow shapley and heber curtis which concerned the nature of so. The great debate, also called the shapleycurtis debate, was held on 26 april 1920 at the smithsonian museum of natural history, between the astronomers harlow shapley and heber curtis. In the early part of the twentieth century there was much disagreement between astronomers about the structure and size of the universe. Shapely was arguing that the spiral nebulae, that were observed at the time, were within our own galaxy and that our galaxy was the universe. What event settled the shapleycurtis debate about spiral. The 1920 shapleycurtis debate sheds a bright light on the commonly held cosmology of the nineteenth century a time when astronomers thought very differently about the structure and form of the universe than we do today. Apr 28, 2010 the great debate or the shapelycurtis debate took place at the smithsonian museum of natural history between two eminent astronomers, harlow shapley and heber curtis. Shapley was enlisted to debate the size of the galaxy at a washington meeting, where his opponent would be a noted speaker who was sure to defeat shapley in front of an audience that included several. Hobby store model railroader model railroader video plus my science. Heber curtis represented the side that thought they are island universes galaxies. Curtisshapley debate 1920 this text is taken from the web.
The great debate was about whether or not the milky way encompassed all other galaxies or if they were outside the milky way. This is a concise and interesting book surrounding the curtis shapley debate or in astronomy, the great debate. Despite the immortalization of the shapleycurtis debate, while the great debate might have been overhyped, it it was never really a debate to begin with. The great debate, also called the shapley curtis debate, was held on 26 april 1920 at the smithsonian museum of natural history, between the astronomers harlow shapley and heber curtis. The great debate, a national discussion in the united kingdom about state education, touched off by a 1976 speech by prime minister james callaghan. Shapley and curtis the great debate share my lesson. Mark it down in history, the presidential debates are now finished for 2016 with the final battle having taken place earlier this evening between hillary clinton and donald trump.
From these emails, weve carefully chosen a top ten of the best free debates we could find, with timely topics such as gay marriage, the morality of. Many issues were involved, but it centered on two principle. Republican candidates chris herrod, tanner ainge and curtis. Shapley believed that distant nebulae were relatively small and lay within.
Great debate astronomy, an influential debate between the astronomers harlow shapley and heber curtis. Hoskin 1976 suggests this format was the result of lobbying by shapley, who wished to avoid confrontation and. The aftermath of the debate was presented in dual papers in the bulletin of the astronomical society in 1921 and was in many ways a draw both shapley and curtis claimed victory at some point. The title of the debate was the scale of the universe, but it is usually called the great debate. To settle the matter, harlow shapley and heber curtis engaged in a great debate one a strong proponent of the nebular hypothesis, the other an advocate of the island universe hypothesis. This is the site for the manitoba speech and debate association, the organization that organizes high school debating in manitoba. View notes curtis shapley from ast 1004 at broward college. On april 26, 1920, astronomer harlow shapley claimed our galaxy was the entire universe. Utah congressional frontrunner john curtis says he supports. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. To read some more about the shapley curtis debate, click on the following.
This is a reprint of the texts of great debate published in 1921 in the bulletin of the national research council by shapley and curtis. This confusion resulted in the shapleycurtis debate in 1920. This is a concise and interesting book surrounding the curtisshapley debate or in astronomy, the great debate. P7 observing the universe curtis shapley debate teaching. Could be given as an organisation task for pupils to arrange into a logical order that the debate could have taken place in, or could be used as a powerpoint to lead pupils through the main ideas of the debate. Since globular clusters are not uniformly distributed uniformly around the sun, the center of the milky way must be centered 30,000 light years away. Oct 04, 2010 there is an online discussion of this debate in.
Edwin hubble measuring the distance to the andromeda galaxy. The great debate of 1920 national academy of sciences. The great debate or the shapelycurtis debate took place at the smithsonian museum of natural history between two eminent astronomers, harlow shapley and heber curtis. The curtisshapley debate two different views of our. The great debate, also called the shapleycurtis debate, was held on 26 april 1920 at the smithsonian museum of natural history, between the astronomers. Shapley believed that distant nebulae were relatively small and lay within the outskirts of earths home galaxy, while curtis. Representative steve daines rmt and state representative amanda curtis d meet in a debate for the montana u. Harvard astronomer harlow shapley argued that the nebulae were nearby objects in the milky way. The debate took place under the auspices of the george ellery hale lecture series, and consisted of two lectures delivered during the monday afternoon scientific session of the academys 1920. May 26, 2012 set of cards with curtis shapley debate. This debate is available on mp3 download and streaming video. But curtis also seized the opportunity for a sprightly debate with relish. Astronomer heber curtis countered that the blurry star clusters seen with a telescope were island universes, separate from, but analogous to. His work led to what was in astronomical circles called the great debate.
Concluded that the milky way is much larger than previously believed 100,000 light years in diameter. Ppt the shapleycurtis debates powerpoint presentation. During the shapleycurtis debate that took place in 1920, shapley and curtis only agreed to completely disagree on everything the shapleycurtis debate that took place in 1920 has now been resolved to conclude that nebulas are distant galaxies like our own milky way. In april of 1920, shapley participated in the shapleycurtis debate in washington, d. View notes curtisshapley from ast 1004 at broward college. You can also relive the debate by reading our factcheckfilled live blog, or skip straight to the jokes with the 65 best debate inspired tweets. Shapley and heber curtis discussed their opposing views on the size of the universe. In shapleys model, the sun is far from the center of the galaxy, while curtis located the sun near its center. Curtis maintains that the dimensions i find for the galactic system should. The leaders of the two opposing views were two american astronomers, heber curtis and harlow shapley.
In 1920 the national academy of sciences held a debate on the nature of the nebulae in washington. I need to find out what 3 scientific issues were disagreed on. He measured its distance using period luminosity relation, and found that it was beyond the boundaries of the milky way galaxy. Read more about the great debate the complete texts of curtis s and shapley s arguments as published in nrc bulletin no. If you have any other ideas about how this could be used please feed back. Rick curtis, president of curtis liquors in weymouth, ma debates his position on question 1. Apr 04, 2020 to settle the matter, harlow shapley and heber curtis engaged in a great debate one a strong proponent of the nebular hypothesis, the other an advocate of the island universe hypothesis. When the ambitious harlow shapley heard the news, although only in his early 30s, he resolved, if possible, to succeed him. During the shapley curtis debate that took place in 1920, shapley and curtis only agreed to completely disagree on everything the shapley curtis debate that took place in 1920 has now been resolved to conclude that nebulas are distant galaxies like our own milky way. The great debate of shapley and curtis 100 years later.
Shapley and curtis the great debate lesson plan template and teaching resources. The actual debate the actual curtis shapley debate at the 1920 meeting of the national academy of science was not a formal debate, but rather presentations of two different viewpoints, followed by comments from the audience. Since shapley maintained to the end of his life that curtis did not address himself to the subject of the title shapley, through rugged ways to the stars, 79, it is worth recording the synopsis curtis proposed to hale curtis to hale, 20 february 1920, shapley archives, harvard university and which hale welcomed. Curtis dimensions and structure of the galaxy definition of units employed. The debate took place at the university of nevada, in las vegas, and was moderated by chris wallace, of the fox news channel. Powerpoint with accompanying handout which looks as the arguments on both sides of the astronomical great debate which took place in the 1920s. The curtisshapley debate two different views of our universe. Who finally resolved the shapley curtis debate explain how he. The 100th anniversary debate websites main address is apod videos uploaded a video. Jul 23, 2010 in 1920 the national academy of sciences held a debate on the nature of the nebulae in washington. Who measured the distance to the andromeda galaxy to be over a million light years.
Up until the early 1920s, most astronomers thought that all of the stars in the universe were contained inside of the milky way. Hitchens provides many arguments against religion, arguing against religious texts, dogmatic beliefs, and a creator god. Virtually all galaxies appear to have been formed soon after the universe began, and they pervade all space that is viewable by modern telescopes. There were still two universes, shapleys singular large milky way, and curtiss small milky way, one of many galaxies. It has information about and resources for debating in manitoba. Galaxy, any of the systems of stars and interstellar matter that make up the universe. Astronomers still disagree about which man technically won the debate, but history ultimately has the final say, and it appears to be draw. Many such assemblages are so enormous that they contain hundreds of billions of stars.
1053 187 772 281 457 211 1078 738 1155 507 1260 539 967 356 422 1304 318 494 124 623 738 633 338 1355 166 965 1167 303 415 179 196 1165 740