Course Planning

Astronomy: The Human Quest for Understanding was written from a primarily historical perspective, with the belief that the advancement of physics and astronomy developed in the order they did in large part because the development of our understanding and discoveries are built successively on prior knowledge. The same holds true for the development of student understanding. The historical perspective also helps students understand how science operates by discussing both successes and failures, and why science is not the inevitable and endless trudge down a single path as it is often portrayed when only our current understanding is presented in textbooks.

For students in non-STEM disciplines, a presentation of final results also hides from them the humanity of scientific exploration and its impact on cultures over time. An historical approach helps students integrate scientific advancement with their own disciplines, demonstrating that science is intertwined with society and intellectual development more broadly. Hopefully this approach will also make science more relatable and relevant.

Brief introductions and anecdotes of many of the major (and occasionally minor) scientists and mathematicians with compelling stories also help to add humanity and color to the developing story of science. The importance of sky-lore and knowledge outside of the traditional path from the ancient Greek philosopher-scientists are also briefly discussed in Section 2.2.

A natural consequence of an historical approach is that much of the physics comes before our growing understanding of astronomical bodies and processes. This is contrary to the often-employed approach of “just-in-time” physics that results in a view of discontinuous development of science that is often without context. The historical approach is also in conflict with the “outside-in” presentation of topics.

Finally, an historical approach aides in motivating the importance of mathematics in our understanding of the universe. Through the integrated use of arithmetic and introductory algebra, students are exposed to, and participate in the true process of science. To assist students in their review of the mathematics used in the text, a set of general tutorials are available on this website. Tutorials explaining the application of specific equations are also available in on this website associated with the chapters in which they are introduced; for example, Kepler’s third law in Chapter 5. In all cases, the incorporated equations are used to illustrate their behavior and dependence on specific physical quantities.

Table of Contents
  • Introduction
  • Part I: The Process of Science Through the Lens of Astronomy
    • Chapter 1: The Nature of Science
    • Chapter 2: The Heavens: A Realm of Mystery
    • Chapter 3: On the Path toward Modern Science
    • Chapter 4: The Copernican Revolution
    • Chapter 5: Sir Isaac Newton’s Universe
    • Chapter 6: The Universality of Physical Law
    • Chapter 7: Revealing Secrets Hidden in Light and Matter
    • Chapter 8: Modern Physics: New Science to Study the Universe
  • Part II: The Sun, Our Solar System, Exoplanets, and Life
    • Chapter 9: The Sun, Our Parent Star
    • Chapter 10: An Overview of the Solar System
    • Chapter 11: The Rocky Planets and Our Moon
    • Chapter 12: The Giant Planet Systems
    • Chapter 13: Dwarf Planets and Small Bodies
    • Chapter 14: Planets Everywhere and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
  • Part III: Stars and the Universe Beyond
    • Chapter 15: Measuring the Stars
    • Chapter 16: The Lives of Stars
    • Chapter 17: The End of a Stellar Life
    • Chapter 18: Galaxies Galore
    • Chapter 19: The Once and Future Universe
Suggested Course Content
  • Two-semester course:
    • There is ample material for a two-semester, 3 credits/semester course covering all of the major topics in astronomy: physics, the Solar System, and stars, galaxies, and cosmology. It is recommended that the chapters be covered in sequence.
    • An alternative ordering would be Part I, Chapter 9, Chapters 15-17, Part II, and finish with Chapters 18 and 19. This approach would provide more continuity in the discussion of stars and stellar evolution, and then put the Solar System exoplanetary systems more firmly in the context of stellar evolution.
    • Another possible ordering (not recommended) would be to postpone Chapter 9 until after completing the rest of Part II. (The purpose of placing Chapter 9 where it is in the Table of Contents is to provide evolutionary context for the remainder of Part II, including the discussion of exoplanets in Chapter 14.
    • Yet another alternative approach (again not recommended) would be Part I, Chapter 9, Part III, and then the remainder of Part II.
  • One-semester overview course:
    • Part I, Chapters 9, 10, and perhaps 14, and Part III
      • Material that could be excluded (not recommended): Section 2.2* , Sections 3.1-3.4, Section 4.1 4.9, and 4.12, and Section 5.6
  • One-semester Solar System course:
    • Parts I and II
      • The possible exclusion of one or more of (not recommended) Section 2.2* , Sections 3.1-3.4, Section 4.1, 4.9, and 4.12, and Section 5.6
  • One-semester course in stars, galaxies, and cosmology:
    • Part I, Chapter 9, Part III
      • The possible exclusion of one or more of (not recommended) Section 2.2*, Sections 3.1-3.4, Section 4.1, 4.9, and 4.12, and Section 5.6

*Section 2.2 discusses archaeoastronomy outside of the Greek tradition. If any sections are to be omitted, it would be the most straightforward to eliminate. Other possible sections for omission suggested above provide human context for scientific advances.

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