Lectures:

They will be posted as we go along.

 

Lecture 1: Astronomy as a science

    Some history. Astronomy as a quantitative science, and as a branch of physics. Types of observations and their intrinsic limitations.
  • Slides (pdf)
  • Video
  • Supplementary readings:
    • Newtonian gravity, Kepler's laws. sec. 1.2, 1.3; Fraknoi sec. 2.2, 2.4

 

 

Lecture 2: Starting the exploration

    Units, distances, and parallaxes. Celestial coordinates, time systems. Newtonian gravity, Kepler's laws.
  • Slides (pdf)
  • Video
  • Supplementary readings:
    • Lang 1.3, 1.5-1.7, 1.10, 3.1, 3.2; Karttunen 2.3-2.5, 2.7, 2.8, 2.13, 2.14, 6.1, 6.3, 6.5; Fraknoi 3.1-3.3