03410 - History of Astronomy

Academic Year 2019/2020

  • Docente: Paola Focardi
  • Credits: 6
  • SSD: FIS/05
  • Language: Italian
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Astronomy (cod. 8004)

    Also valid for Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Physics (cod. 9245)

Learning outcomes

To acquire a good knowledge on the historical evolution of Astronomy. Understand the role of Astronomy (and Astrophysics) in changing our concept of "space" and of Universe throughout the years.

Course contents

The course will show the evolution of Astronomy starting from prehistorical tools, used to identify the different seasons and ending with the measure of the distance of Andromeda galaxy made by Hubble in 1923. As it is almost impossible to cover such a huge period in 48 hours, the course will focus on the events and scientists, that can be considered responsible of the major changes in Astronomy.

Here is a short summary of the subjects that will be included in the course:

Sun and stars in Prehistory and in different places of the Earth. Astronomical knowledge in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. The first astronomical distance measures by Greek philosophers. Pythagoras and his school. The heliocentric model by Aristarchus of Samos. How Plato influenced cosmology. The model by Eudosso. Aristotle.  Ipparchus of Nicaea.Claudius Ptolemy. Arabian astronomy and astronomy in the Middle Ages. Nicolaus Copernicus. Galileo Galilei. Johannes von Kepler. Tycho Brahe. Isaac Newton. How telescopes changed Astronomy.Wilhelm, Caroline and John Herschel. Joseph von Fraunhofer. The first measure of the stellar parallax. The birth of spectroscopy. The spectroscopical classification of stars. The introduction of photographic plates in Astronomy. Henrietta Leavitt. Edwin Hubble

Readings/Bibliography

Pannekoek: "A History of Astronomy", Dover, 1989 (italian translation available   online  Alm@Dl)
M Hoskin: "Storia dell'Astronomia", Rizzoli, 2017

Teaching methods

Lectures will be given in the traditional way,  however large space  for discussion will be left on each treated subject. Students will have the opportunity to create individual programs  including one or more subjects among the ones treated (or even not treated) in the course. Individual programs will have to be approved by the teacher. Students from humanistic areas will have course contents more focused  on philosophical aspects than on scientific-technological ones.

 

Assessment methods

Oral test lasting between 40 and 60 minutes. Half of the test will concern discussion of a subject chosen (and deeply known) by the student. The remaining half of the test will be devoted to verify  by means of a couple of questions  student's knowledge of  the subjects addressed in the course.

Teaching tools

Video Projector and PC.

Office hours

See the website of Paola Focardi