Astr 350 | Lecture 3 | Fall 2011
Ptolemy
Astronomy 350
Lecture 3, Aug 26 Fall 2011 Nicolaus Copernicus

Lecture Notes: pdf file

Greek Cosmology: Geocentric

  • physical principles
  • experimental evidence
  • epicycles: animation
  • Ptolemy
  • Aristotle

Nicholas Copernicus

Tycho Brahe

Johannes Kepler & Kepler's Laws

  1. Orbits are ellipses
  2. Equal areas in equal times (animation, another animation)
  3. P2 = a3
Copernican Cosmology

Lecture Archive


Brian Fields
Last modified: Fri Aug 26 10:14:40 CDT 2011