Lecture 01: Introduction to Astronomy 161

What are our units of measure in astronomy? To begin our exploration of astronomy, we first need to develop a common language for notating large numbers, and introduce the basic units of length, mass, and time that we will use throughout the quarter. This lecture is a quick revie ...  Show more

What are the constellations? We will review the most basic feature of the night sky, the 6000 visible stars sprinkled about the sky, and introduce the idea of constellations, reviewing their history and uses by various cultures. Recorded 2007 Sep 21 in 1000 McPherson Lab on the C ...  Show more

AstronomyCast 183: History of Astronomy | Pt. 1, The Ancient Astronomers 

A new podcast, Astronomy 141, Life in the Universe, is available for those interested in continuing an exploration of topics in modern astronomy. 

Before we can begin our exploration of astronomy, we need to develop a common language for notating large numbers, and introduce the basic units of length, mass, and time that we will use throughout the quarter. We will first re-introduce the basic metric system, explaining how t ...  Show more

Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) is the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, host of StarTalk Radio, and author of New York Times bestseller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. What We Discuss with Neil deGrasse Tyson: How a seasoned scientist maintains childlike ...  Show more