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Episodes
- S1 E1 - A Grand Tour of the CosmosOctober 18, 202334minYou embark on a fantastic voyage throughout the Universe, starting in this lecture with a whirlwind tour of the course, which extends from phenomena in Earth's atmosphere to events at the farthest reaches of space and time.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E2 - The Rainbow ConnectionOctober 18, 202330minThe daytime sky contains intriguing natural sights that offer a colorful introduction to astronomy. One such phenomenon is the rainbow. This lecture examines how a rainbow is created and how it appears under different circumstances.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E3 - Sunrise, SunsetOctober 18, 202332minContinuing the study of the daytime sky, this lecture examines phenomena associated with sunrise and sunset, including the elusive green flash, Buddha's rays, and Earth's own shadow at sunset.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E4 - Bright Objects in the Night SkyOctober 18, 202331minMany objects in the night sky can be enjoyed with the naked eye, even from the city. These include several famous constellations, bright stars, planets, and satellites such as the International Space Station.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E5 - Fainter Phenomena in the Night SkyOctober 18, 202331minFar from city lights, the night sky becomes spectacular and includes such sights as the Milky Way, the Magellanic Clouds, zodiacal light, and comets. Though not technically "celestial," auroras are also wondrous spectacles.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E6 - Our Sky through Binoculars and TelescopesOctober 18, 202330minA relatively inexpensive telescope and even a simple pair of binoculars greatly increase the number of celestial objects you can study, such as the craters on the Moon, the Orion Nebula, and the Andromeda Galaxy.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E7 - The Celestial SphereOctober 18, 202333minAs Earth rotates on its axis and orbits the Sun, the night sky changes over a 24-hour period, as well as throughout the year. This lecture explains how to locate celestial bodies and why the sky appears different from place to place.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E8 - The Reason for the SeasonsOctober 18, 202331minContrary to popular belief, the seasons are not caused by changes in the distance between Earth and the Sun over the course of a year. Instead, the tilt of Earth's axis of spin relative to the axis of its orbital plane produces seasons.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E9 - Lunar Phases and Eerie Lunar EclipsesOctober 18, 202330minLunar phases occur as the Moon orbits Earth, changing the viewing perspective of the Moon's illuminated hemisphere. Lunar eclipses take place when Earth, the Sun, and Moon are almost exactly aligned.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E10 - Glorious Total Solar EclipsesOctober 18, 202331minTotal solar eclipses are stunning celestial sights, which occur when the Moon comes between Earth and the Sun, totally blocking the Sun for a small portion of the Earth. These rare events reveal beautiful and thrilling phenomena.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E11 - More Eclipse TalesOctober 18, 202331minSolar eclipses also come in annular and hybrid varieties, reflecting the varying distance of the Moon from Earth. A famous total solar eclipse in 1919 provided observational evidence for Einstein's general theory of relativity.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E12 - Early Studies of the Solar SystemOctober 18, 202329minAstronomy has its roots in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Babylon, India, Egypt, and China. The Greeks in particular developed sophisticated and sometimes surprisingly accurate theories of the nature of the heavens.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E13 - The Geocentric UniverseOctober 18, 202330minThe Greek philosopher Aristotle concluded that Earth is stationary at the center of the Universe, surrounded by 55 nested spheres. Ptolemy elaborated this geocentric model into a system that held sway for nearly 1,500 years.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E14 - Galileo and the Copernican RevolutionOctober 18, 202331minIn 1543, Copernicus proposed a heliocentric system, in which Earth and other planets orbit the Sun, which is at the center of the Universe. In the early 1600s Galileo provided strong evidence for this model with the newly invented telescope.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E15 - Refinements to the Heliocentric ModelOctober 18, 202331minThis lecture explores the refinements in the Copernican model made possible by Tycho's extremely accurate measurements of planetary positions, which were analyzed by Kepler to produce his laws of planetary motion.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E16 - On the Shoulders of GiantsOctober 18, 202332minAccording to legend, Newton saw a falling apple and realized that the force that pulled it toward Earth also pulled on the Moon, keeping it in its orbit. Building on the work of Kepler and Galileo, he revolutionized astronomy with his law of universal gravitation and laws of motion.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E17 - Surveying Space and TimeOctober 18, 202331minObservations of the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun in the 18th century helped determine the scale of the Solar System. In the wider Universe, distances are so vast that the finite speed of light means we are literally looking back in time.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E18 - Scale Models of the UniverseOctober 18, 202331minThe best way to understand the size of the Universe is to investigate it in a series of steps, each 10 times larger or smaller than the one preceding. In this way, you explore the cosmos from the smallest to the largest scale.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E19 - Light-The Supreme InformantOctober 18, 202331minAstronomers obtain most of their information through the analysis of light. This lecture introduces the electromagnetic spectrum and the technique of spectroscopy, in which light is dispersed into its component colors, as in a rainbow.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E20 - The Wave-Particle Duality of LightOctober 18, 202330minDelving deeper into the nature of light, you explore the strange duality between electromagnetic waves (light waves) and particles (photons), which is a fundamental feature of quantum theory.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E21 - The Colors of StarsOctober 18, 202331minThe surface temperature of a star determines its apparent color. The hottest stars are bluish in color, and the coldest stars are reddish; stars at intermediate temperatures appear white. The Sun is a white star.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E22 - The Fingerprints of AtomsOctober 18, 202331minElectrons jumping between different energy levels in atoms emit and absorb photons in a characteristic way for each element. Thus, astronomers can use the light from distant objects to deduce their chemical compositions.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E23 - Modern TelescopesOctober 18, 202331minToday's telescopes are designed to provide huge light-gathering mirrors at relatively low cost. The mirrors focus light from distant objects onto sensitive electronic detectors that are far more efficient than traditional photographic film.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E24 - A Better Set of EyesOctober 18, 202331minThis lecture looks at radio telescopes, adaptive optics for ground-based infrared telescopes, and NASA's Great Observatories, which include the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and Spitzer Space Telescope.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E25 - Our Sun, the Nearest StarOctober 18, 202330minBeginning a sequence of lectures on the Solar System, you start with the Sun, which you explore from the interior to the surface. Sunspots are cooler regions associated with strong magnetic fields, and violent eruptions blast solar material into space.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
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