HET607 History of Astronomy
Credit Points:12.5 Duration & Workload:
One semester, equivalent to a 5 contact hour per week lecture course. Prerequisites:
Nil. No background knowledge of astronomy or physics will be assumed. Aims:
This unit will investigate the development and impact of astronomy from ancient times to the present day, from the viewpoint of practicing astronomers. No background knowledge of astronomy or physics will be assumed. Content:
- Naked eye astronomy; archaeoastronomy; the influence of mythology
- The development of astronomy in Mesopotamia and Egypt; constellations, the zodiac, eclipses, astrology, concepts of time
- Natural philosophy and science in ancient Greece, Greek and Roman astronomy
- Islamic astronomy; astronomy in Asia: Chinese and Indian astronomy
- Medieval astronomy: the influence of Islamic science, pre-Copernicans, practical uses of medieval astronomy, the Copernican revolution: Brahe, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo
- The Newtonian revolution: Descartes, Newtonian cosmology, Halley; Kant and galaxies, Herschel and Uranus, physics and astronomy after Newton
- 19th century: discovery of Neptune, rise of large telescopes and observatories, nebulae to galaxies, spectroscopy and astrophysics, astrophotography and photometry
- New wavelengths: the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared radiation, the dawn of radio astronomy
- 20th century: relativity, cosmology and the Big Bang; the shift from imaging to imagination; modern cosmology
- Issues in the history of astronomy: the philosophy of science and the scientific method; women in astronomy; astronomical instrumentation and technological developments
This unit will be presented in on-line delivery mode, with contact via newsgroup and e-mail. Assessment Method:
Assessable newsgroup contributions, assignments and project. Textbook:
For information about the textbook, follow this link