HET612 - Major Project: History of Astronomy

Unit Instructor:

Dr Glen Mackie

Format of the Unit:

More details will be provided in Week 1, but the basic components of this Major Project unit will be:

  1. A major project, chosen and approved by the project supervisor and unit instructor in or before Week 1 of Semester.
  2. A project proposal, to be completed by the end of the third week of semester. Students must write a 2 page (references not included) proposal for their project, describing the aims, relevance and importance of their topic, and their proposed research methodology.
  3. An introduction & literature review, to be completed by the end of the eighth week of semester. Students must write up to a 8 page (references not included) introduction and literature review of their project topic. This entails background reading and research to give a broad understanding of the field and how the project fits in with the overall field. It includes 1 page of self-assessment including discussion of contingencies, variations to topic, etc.
  4. Newsgroups will be used for general discussions of techniques and problems encountered, as well as for Project Diary postings, whereby students are expected to make brief weekly postings of what they accomplished, learned or tested that week. These submissions will not be marked but are a compulsory part of the major project. Students must submit Project Diary postings in at least 10 of the available weeks throughout the semester, otherwise they may receive a fail grade on their final project report. Note also that there is generally less interaction between students in Major Project units as people are working on their own projects.
  5. The major project report must be submitted at the last week of semester. The project report should be about 20 pages or as negotiated with the project supervisor as different types of projects may vary in length substantially.It includes 1 page of self-assessment (update of ILR version) and should include the bulk of the ILR that was written previously.

Note that Major Project Units, including this one, do not have associated CD-ROMs.

Project Topics & Supervisors:

The project will be on a topic chosen after negotiation with the unit instructor. Previous topics completed by HET612 students are listed below to give you an idea of the kind of topics we are looking for. Please use these as a guide to formulate your own project and then contact the unit instructor to discuss what you plan to research and how you are going to do it. If the unit instructor has no objection and if a project supervisor can be found your unit instructor will give approval for the project.

Getting Started

For more information on general background readings, online resources, journals and interpreting primary resources, contact your unit instructor and/or project supervisor.


Past HET612 Project Topics: 2002-2007:
  • Evolution and application of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics to Compact Stellar Interiors
  • Shedding Light on the Universe: Standard Candles and Cepheid Variables in astronomy from the 1850s to 1940s
  • A Series of Fortunate Events Leading to the Establishment of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory
  • A Brief History of Radio Astronomy in Aotearoa New Zealand
  • Margaret Burbidge: A Lifetime Looking at the Glass and Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling
  • Mount Wilson Observatory: An Insider's View
  • Moving out of the Silent Planet: A Comparison of C.S.Lewis' Cosmic Trilogy to the Observed Cosmos 1938-2002
  • The History of the Royal Greenwich Observatory
  • The History of Venus from Earth
  • Tuorla Observatory Through the Years
  • Ancient Astronomers: Prehistoric North American Astronomy
  • Astronomy in Ancient Mexico
  • Sky & Telescope: This is Your Life
  • Mayan Astronomy: Science or Religion?
  • History of Astrophysics in Antarctica
  • Christian Views of the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (1600 - 2000)
  • Our Changing Views of Meteorites
  • ET - Friend, Foe, Fossil or Fantasy? Science Fiction 1945-1970 Involving Mars, Venus, the Moon, and Extra-solar Planets
  • 'Are We Alone in the Universe?' The SETI Institute is Trying to Find Out!
  • The Science Fiction of Douglas Adams: Mostly Harmless, or Seriously Inaccurate?
  • Early Philosophical OBjections to the Big Bang Among the Scientific Community
  • Fact and Science Fiction
  • The Contribution of Amateur Astronomers Since the End of the Nineteenth Century
  • The development of Stephen Hawking's views on the beginning of time, within the context of contemporary thought.
  • The History of Mount Wilson Observatory
  • William Lassesl's Observatory in Malta
  • Investigations of the Interstellar Medium at Washburn Observatory, 1930-1958
  • Astrolabes (16th century)
  • Meteorites and Meteor Showers: From Folklore to Science
  • Modeling the Universe
  • History of the Harvard College Observatory: 1877-1919
  • The History of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Its Instruments
  • Helical Rising and Egyptian Astronomy
  • The Elgin Observatory: Timing Watches by the Stars
  • Biography of The Anglo-Australian Observatory
  • Solar Physics in the 19th Century
  • Astronomy Aboard H.M. Bark Endeavour
  • The Changing Attitudes towards Giordano Bruno and his Influence
  • "...Not always visible to mortal eyes..." an account of the astronomy of William Dawes, 1787-1791
  • Great Works of Astronomy - Einstein's Relativity
  • The Story of the Heavens: Sir Robert Stawell Ball and his Legacy
  • The History of Astrobiology from antiquity to the ALH 84001 Revelation
  • A Great Book of Astronomy: Astronomie Populaire by Camille Flammarion
  • The Introduction of Computers to Astrophotographic Plate Processing
  • A Brief History of Balloon-borne Astronomy
  • A History of Czechoslovak Observatories
  • Coding the Cosmos: the role of computers in understanding the universe
  • Astronomy for the Public
  • The Scientific and Social Impact of the Mariner 4 pictures of Mars
  • Mystery Hill, New Hampshire: America's Stonehenge?
  • The Brass Triangle: Astronomy, Navigation and Instrument Making in 16th Century England
  • Percival Lowell: Scientist, Fool or Showman
  • History of Online Astronomy Education
  • Early Radio Astronomy Pioneers - Jansky, Reber and Hey
  • Black Holes: From Curiosity to Evidence
  • Tales of Comets: Impacts on Society and Astronomy
  • History of determining the Orbits of Comets
  • A Short Account of the Directorships of Robinson at Armargh, and Hamilton at Dunsink
  • Revisiting Classic Spectrographic Experiments from 1900 to 1914: Challenging Projects for Amateur Astronomers
  • Space Physiology: A History
  • A Short History of the Development of Astrobiology into a 21st Century Multidisciplinary Science
  • The Possible Evolution of Prehistoric Astronomy in the Southwest, United States
  • Recognition of the Importance of the Works of Ibn al-Shatir in the History of the Scientific Revolution
  • The Contributions by Georges Lemaitre to Modern Physical Cosmology