The course will stress the interaction of observations and the mathematical models developed from these data. Evening laboratory at the Observatory. This course serves as an introduction to astronomy for students with a strong science background. The emphasis is on the physical principles that shape the Universe and on the tools we exploit to learn about stars, galaxies, and cosmology. Laboratory one evening per week offers hands-on access to the telescopes.
Some assignments require daytime observing outside of class.
By permission of the instructor. This course will cover the motions of the sun, moon, and planets in the sky and how humans have interpreted them through time. Archaeoastronomy is the study of astronomical knowledge in a culture as revealed through the archaeological record, written records, and ethnography. We will discuss the archaeoastronomy of several cultures, including the Mayans, native North Americans, and the Chinese. We will follow the beginnings of modern astronomy from the ancient Greeks through the Copernican revolution and Newton's formulation of the laws of motion.