NATS 1740 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Semi-Major And Semi-Minor Axes, Applet, Deferent And Epicycle

• School: York University
• Department: Natural Science
• Course: NATS 1740
• Professor: Tatiana Ouvarova

Document Summary

In the first part of the brief historical overview of the development of western astronomy, we will trace out its path from the ancient greeks to the renaissance astronomers who began the scientific revolution". We will see that the history of astronomical development presents itself as an ideal case study of the development of the scientific method itself. The ancient astronomers like ptolemy observed the sky and made their sophisticated models of the universe based on what seemed to be an earth-centred universe. This critical point in history is seen by many as the start of modern astronomy, rooted in the scientific principles of theories (or models) of the universe confirmed by physical observations. Main topics: planets and their retrograde motion, ancient greek science: geocentric model, kepler"s laws of planetary motion, galileo"s telescope the copernican revolution: heliocentric model. You should also complete the following activities in the. Orbits and kepler"s laws", lessons 2 & 3.