In the history of astrophysics and astronomy there are major figures from the era to reach Antigua twentieth century. Some of the most important are those that follow.

Hiparco Nicaea (190-120 BC)

It was the most important Greek astronomer of his time. He was the director of the Alexandria Library. He was also known as Hiparco of Rhodes.

It is one of the great discoverers. Among his contributions is the first development of a catalog of stars with elliptical coordinates and differentiated by its brightness. This catalog had more than 850 stars and is still used today.

It was also the discoverer of the pressure of the equinoxes. This astronomer relying on its list of stars and their coordinates elliptical realized that the stars changed in length with the passage of time but not latitude.

Claudius Ptolemy (85-165)

Ptolemy, also known as Ptolemy, was a great astrologer and astronomer. He is the author of the first observation that can be dated and held in the year 127 d. C.

He suggested that the geocentric system opposes Aristotelian physics and is the location of the Earth as the center of the universe, around which all the planets revolve including Sun. This theory lasted until the beginning of the fifteenth century or so.

He was also the author of great works among which the Almagest which is a compilation mathematics. There are scientific knowledge of the era and observations of him and Hiparco Nicaea.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543)

The Polish astronomer made one of the great theories of Western science, the heliocentrismo. This theory has already been formulated from the time of the Greeks and the Egyptians but he shall give the contemporary significance.

The theory heliocentrista Copernicus argued that the Sun was the center of the universe revolve around him and all the planets in the Solar System.

He was the author of the book entitled From revolutionibus Orbium coelestium in which collects studies done in 1507 to 1532 and all ideas concerning the theory heliocentrista.

Tycho Brahe (1546 - 1601)

It is the observer prior to the creation of the most important telescope in history. Among his ideas was always to create a research center astronomer.

This Danish astronomer was the first to publish the observations on the emergence and evolution of the brightness of a star type nova, which gave him that name.

He was also responsible for creating a theory between heliocentrismo and geocentrismo. In this theory that expose Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn would relate around the sun and all of them, in turn, would make around the Earth.

Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642)

It was the astronomer in charge of the first refractive telescope in history. It noted the prominence of the moon and stains exist in the Sun.

Among its achievements is the creation of the first law of relativity, in which he stated that the inertial systems (with difficulty to change state) there is equivalence between a state of rest and movement.

Galileo also was the author of numerous works such as the Dialogue Two New Sciences and dialogue between the two systems of the world. The latter can be found all their studies and experiments.

Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630)

It is one of the key figures within the scientific revolution that gave rise to modern science and was hincada by Copernicus. He was a collaborator and assistant to the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe.

He is known for its laws on the movement of the planets in orbit around the sun. They described, among other things, the elliptical motion and orbital period.

Kepler was responsible for finalizing the astrological charts that Brahe had started up in the year 1624 and receiving the name of tables rudolfianas in honor of Rudolf II.

Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727)

This English astronomer is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time. Among its main findings is the creation of the law of universal gravitation.

With this law, Newton demonstrated that there is a force of attraction between the planets and the Sun. In addition, he argued that existing laws on earth are the same as those that exist in the rest of the planets.

Another major discovery was the refinement of the telescope which enabled him to carry out various views of the surface of planets and stars discover.

William Herschel (1738 - 1822)

This is one of the great astronomers of modern astronomy. It is of German origin but moved to England with her brother to carry out their studies.

This creates its own telescope astronomer to begin his remarks with which he discovered the planet Uranus, a fact which led him to international fame. Originally christened the planet by the name of the planet in honor of George King George III.

He also did a number of other discoveries such as the movement of the Sun, which initially was thought that he was motionless, and the discovery of two moons of Uranus.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

It is the most important scientist of the twentieth century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 thanks to his explanation of the photoelectric effect.

He was the creator of the Theory of Relativity (1905) in which examines the behavior of objects, which are in uniform motion or remain at rest.

Subsequently announced his general theory of relativity (1915) in formulating the concept of gravity, in which the bodies are diverted when passing near a massive object. This theory was proven in 1919 by Arthur Eddigton viewing an eclipse.