Course curriculum

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About this course

  • £10.00
  • Tutor: Martin Lunn M.B.E. 5 sessions
  • Age: approx 8-13
  • Description: The History of Astronomy. 28th April Space in the 1960s The space age began on October 4th 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik; the first man-made object to be placed in orbit around the Earth. During the 1960s there was spectacular progress in the exploration of space. Robot spac 5th May - Anglo-Saxon Astronomy The Anglo-Saxon period is often known as the Dark Ages because we know so little about it, but astronomically it could not be more interesting. During this time there were several major events with global effects. In Britain it was a time of diverse views about the heavens, with Celtic, Greek, Saxon and Viking ideas all competing with each other. 12th May Astronomy before the Telescope We are used to hearing of fantastic discoveries made by astronomers using powerful telescopes. However, astronomers around the world were studying the night sky for thousands of years before telescopes were invented. Using very simple equipment they made many fantastic discoveries, and some things they got very wrong. This is their story. 19th May Astronomy in the Mediterranean Many great civilisations flourished in the ancient Mediterranean. This talk takes us on an astronomical journey to Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia and the empires of Byzantium and Arabia. We will also visit Europe during the Renaissance. These were very varied civilisations, each with their own interpretation of the night sky. Our modern view of the stars and constellations was shaped in this diverse part of the world, and the study of the oldest of all the sciences is still being undertaken in this region today. 26th May The Pluto Story Discovered as a planet in 1930 then relegated to a dwarf planet in 2006. Pluto has set astronomers many problems about its size and what kind of planet it really is. It was only in 2015, when the New Horizons space craft flew past Pluto, that we began better to understand this small world at the edge of the Solar System.