Lecture 08: The Phases of the Moon

Among the most amazing sights in the sky, eclipses of the Sun and Moon have long fascinated us. This lecture describes the eclipses of the Sun and Moon, their types, and how often they occur. Recorded 2007 Oct 1 in 1000 McPherson Lab on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State Unive ...  Show more

What time is it? Telling time is the oldest practical application of astronomy. Today's lecture is the first of a 2-part lecture on the astronomical origins of our methods of keeping time and making calendars. This lecture reviews the divisions of the year into the solstices, equ ...  Show more

There was a time when science and religion worked in harmony, as two parts of a celestial design. Astrologer and philosopher Johannes Kepler oversaw this marriage of theory and belief when he proposed the revolutionary laws of planetary motion in the early 17th century. Amidst pe ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the flow of particles from the outer region of the Sun which we observe in the Northern and Southern Lights, interacting with Earth's magnetosphere, and in comet tails that stream away from the Sun regardless of their own direction. One way of defi ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the pioneering Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601) whose charts offered an unprecedented level of accuracy.In 1572 Brahe's observations of a new star challenged the idea, inherited from Aristotle, that the heavens were unchanging. He went o ...  Show more

The sun is out, the weather is warm, and summer school is in session! Neil deGrasse Tyson, co-host Matt Kirshen, and astrophysicist Charles Liu answer fan-submitted questions on mathematics, the Big Bang, the laws of physics, neutrinos, relativity, Pluto, the smell of the Milk ...