Our Place in the Universe MOOC Syllabus
Universe MOOC Syllabus.pdf ****
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?
