History of Astronomy
HET607
Overview
To enrol in this unit, you must be accepted into a course from the provider.
Read before you start
Level of study: What does Postgraduate mean?
Postgraduate
EFTSL: What does EFTSL mean?
0.125
Delivery Method: What does delivery method mean?
Fully Online
Prerequisites: What are the prerequisites?
No
Duration:
13 weeks
Government loans available:
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Domestic student fee:
$1,600.00 (AUD)
International student fee:
$1,825.00 (AUD)
Description
This unit investigates the development and impact of astronomy from ancient times to the present day, from the viewpoint of practising astronomers. No background knowledge of astronomy or physics is assumed.
Enrolment Restriction
In order to enrol in this unit, you must be accepted into one of the following courses:
- Graduate Certificate of Science (Astronomy)
- Graduate Diploma of Science (Astronomy)
- Master of Science (Astronomy)
If you wish to seek approval to enrol in this unit without being accepted in a course, please contact OUA regarding the process.
Learning Outcomes
At the completion of this unit students will be able to:
- appreciate the social reasons which lead to the development of astronomical knowledge in ancient times
- understand the development of astronomical concepts and techniques throughout the ages in world societies
- recognise the major influences on and key players in the development of astronomy as it emerged as a science in western societies
- appreciate the interplay of Newtonian and post-Newtonian physics with astronomy, and the influence of the rise of scientific instrumentation in astronomy
- recognise the social implications of the historical development of astronomy, plus the status of astronomy as an international science in the 21st century
- research a topic in the history of astronomy in detail, using dependable sources of astronomical and historical information on the internet.
Topics
This unit addresses the following topics.
| Number | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Naked eye astronomy; archaeoastronomy; the influence of mythology |
| 2 | The development of astronomy in Mesopotamia and Egypt; constellations, the zodiac, eclipses, astrology, concepts of time |
| 3 | Natural philosophy and science in ancient Greece, Greek and Roman astronomy |
| 4 | Islamic astronomy; astronomy in Asia: Chinese and Indian astronomy |
| 5 | Medieval astronomy: the influence of Islamic science, pre-Copernicans, medieval astronomy, Copernican revolution: Brahe, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo |
| 6 | The Newtonian revolution: Descartes, Newtonian cosmology, Halley; Kant and galaxies, Herschel and Uranus, physics and astronomy after Newton |
| 7 | 19th century: discovery of Neptune, large telescopes & observatories, nebulae to galaxies, spectroscopy & astrophysics, astrophotography & photometry |
| 8 | New wavelengths: the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared radiation, the dawn of radio astronomy |
| 9 | 20th century: relativity, cosmology and the Big Bang; the shift from imaging to imagination; modern cosmology |
| 10 | Issues in history of astronomy: philosophy science & scientific method; women in astronomy; astronomical instrumentation & technological developments |
Study Resources
This unit is delivered using the following methods and materials:
Instructional Methods
- Discussion Forum/Discussion Board
- Embedded Multimedia
- Online Quizzes/Tests
- Online assignment submission
- Standard Media
- Web links
Textbooks are subject to change within the academic year. Students are advised to purchase their books no earlier than one to two months before the start of a unit.
Click on the titles of the listed books below to find out more:
Recommended textbooks
By:Hoskin Michael
ISBN: -
Format:Print
Supplier:Go to Unibooks
Relevant Courses
This unit is a core requirement in the following courses:
- Graduate Certificate of Science (Astronomy), Swinburne University of Tnlgy
- Graduate Diploma of Science (Astronomy), Swinburne University of Tnlgy
This unit is an approved elective in the following courses:
This unit may be eligible for credit towards other courses:
- Many undergraduate courses on offer through OUA include 'open elective' where any OUA unit can be credited to the course. You need to check the Award Requirements on the course page for the number of allowed open electives and any level limitations.
- In other cases, the content of this unit might be relevant to a course on offer through OUA or elsewhere. In order to receive credit for this unit in the course you will need to supply the provider institution with a copy of the Unit Profile in the approved format, which you can download here. Note that the Unit Profile is set at the start of the year, and if textbooks change this may not match the Unibooks textbook list.
