Our Place in the Universe

Our Place in the Universe MOOC Syllabus

WEEK 1 Humans and the Cosmos

1.1 How Significant Are We?

* How Significant Are We (1)

* How Significant Are We (2)

1.2 Patterns in Nature

* What Patterns and Events Can We Observe in Nature?

* Are There Connections between Humans and the Heavens?

* Why Do the Sun, the Moon and the Stars Move?

* Astronomy is an Oldest Science

1.3 Celestial Bodies: Why Are They There?

* What Can be Learnt from the Sun’s Shadow?

* The Four Special Days of Season Changes

* Why Do the Sunrise and Sunset Positions Change?

1.4 Ancient Models of the Universe

* What Are the Shapes of the Earth and the Heaven?

* How Did People Discover that the Earth is Not Flat?

WEEK 2 Changing Perspectives of the Shape of the Earth

2.1 Turning of the Heavens

* The Pole Star

* The Pole of Heaven

2.2 A Spherical Earth

* How Can We Define Directions and Specific Locations on Earth?

* Looking at the Earth with a New Perspective: The Spherical Model

2.3 The Sun’s Journey through the Stars

* The Sun’s Journey in the Celestial Sphere

* The Zodiac Constellations

* The Stars and the Seasons

* The Ecliptic and the Seasons

* How Do We Tell the Positions of Stars on the Celestial Sphere?

2.4 A Two-sphere Universe

A Two-Sphere Universe Model

* How does the Two-sphere Universe Model Show the Motion of the Sun and Stars?

Special Feature: The Armillary Sphere

* How did the Armillary Sphere Come About?

* How Does the Armillary Sphere Work?

* Making Measurements with the Armillary Sphere

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WEEK 3 The Mysterious Patterns of Cosmic Objects

3.1 Dance of the Moon

* Dance of the Moon

* Determining the Size and Distance of the Moon

* How Does the Sun Affect the Phases of the Moon?

* Lunar Eclipse

* Two Different Lengths of a Month

3.2 The Calendar

* Star Calendar

* Different Calendars of the World

3.3 The Five Wanderers and the Seven Luminaries

* The Five Wanderers and the Seven Luminaries

* The Motions of the Planets

* The Stories of the Two Brightest Planets: Venus and Mars

* The Planets in the Grand Scheme of the Universe

3.4 The Change in Positions of Stars

* The Uneven Seasons

* Why is the Pole Moving? (1)

* Why is the Pole Moving? (2)

WEEK 4 From An Earth-Centered to A Sun-Centered Universe

4.1 The Language of Mathematics in Astronomy

* Cycles Upon Cycles

* Cosmology According to Aristotle

4.2 How Big is the Earth Compared to the Universe?

* The First Measurement of the Size of the Earth

* The First Measurement of the Distance of the Sun

* The First Estimation of the Size of the Universe

4.3 The Post Ptolemy World

* The Age of Islamic Science

* Islam and the Awakening of Science in Europe

4.4 The Copernicus Revolution

* The Man Who Moved the Earth and Stopped the Sun

* Copernicus’ Sun-centered Universe

4.5 The Legacy of Copernicus

* A Milestone in Astronomy - Copernicus’ Heliocentric Model

* Controversies of the Copernican Theory

* What We Learned from Copernicus?