University of Vermont Fall 2009 Term

Physics Department Astronomy 57 "History & Practice of Ancient Astronomy"

Instructor: Prof. Joanna Rankin (A538 Cook) Office Hours: W 1-2; Th 4-5

Preliminary Course Syllabus

Sunday, Aug. 30 (1958 GMT), Moon New

Sept. 1, 3 Birth of Astronomy/Getting Started
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§1.1-1.8
Duncan: Introductions and Chapter 1
™ Observations:   Evans §§1.2, 1.7 in notebook
Assignments: Evans §1.5 in notebook, timelines
Make/use a shadow table (see §§1.5, 1.13)
before, on, & after the equinox

Sunday, Sept. 7 (1404 GMT), Moon First Quarter

Saturday, Sept. 7 (4 GMT), Moon at Apogee

Thursday, Sept. 8 (3 GMT), Jupiter Stationary

Thursday, Oct. 11 (10 GMT), Mercury at Greatest East Elongation (27¡)

Sept. 8, 10 Birth of Astronomy (cont'd)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§1.9-1.18; Duncan: Chapts. 2 & 3
Zodiacal constellations
ª Observations:  Evans §§1.11, 1.16 in notebook
Assignments: Evans §§1.13, 1.15, 1.18 in notebook
Choose culture/calendar of interest

Monday, Sept. 15 (0913 GMT), Moon Full

Sept. 15, 17 Celestial Sphere
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§2.1-2.8; Duncan: Chapts. 4 & 5
‹ Aristotle: extracts from On the Heavens
Observation: Evans §2.8 in notebook
Assignments: Evans §§2.3, 2.7 in notebook
Culture/calendar paper proposal written,
corrected & critiqued, due 9/25

Saturday, Sept. 20 (0317 GMT), Moon at Perigee

Monday, Sept. 22 (0504 GMT), Moon Third Quarter

Monday, Sept. 22 (1545 GMT), Autumnal Equinox

Sept. 22, 24 Celestial Sphere (cont'd)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§2.9-2.17; Duncan: Chapts. 6 & 7
£ Observation: Equinox; Evans §2.17 in notebook
Assignments: Formal write-up of §1.18 due 10/2
Evans §§2.10, 2.12, 2.14 in notebook

Monday, Sept. 29 (0812 GMT), Moon New

Sept. 29, Oct. 1           Applications of Spherics
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§3.1-3.4; Duncan: Chapts. 8 & 9
¡ Aratus: Phenomena
Assignments: Evans: §§3.3-3.4 in notebook
Notebook check: notebooks due 10/7

Sunday, Oct. 5 (1034 GMT), Moon at Apogee

Tuesday, Oct. 7 (0904 GMT), Moon First Quarter

Oct. 7, 9 Applications of Spherics (cont'd)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§3.5-3.8; Duncan: Chapts. 10 & 11
Janus astrolabe instructions
ª Assignments: Submit finished sundial 10/14
Evans: §§3.6, 3.8 in notebook

Tuesday, Oct. 14 (2003 GMT), Moon Full

Friday, Oct. 17 (0605 GMT), Moon at Perigee

Oct. 14, 16 Calendars and Time Reconing
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§4.1-4.6; Duncan: Chapts. 12 & 13
¶      Assignments: Evans: §§4.2, 4.4 in notebook
Culture paper due 10/23

Oct. 21, 23 Calendars and Time Reconing (cont'd)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§4.7-4.12; Duncan: Chapts. 14 & 15
™ Assignments: Evans: §§4.6, 4.8, 4.12 in notebook
Submit finished astrolabe with your plate 10/28

Tuesday, Oct. 28 (2114 GMT), Moon New

Friday, Oct. 26 (12 GMT), Moon at Perigee

Oct. 28, 30 MID-TERM EXAM
Calendars and Time Reconing (cont'd)

Sunday, Nov. 2 (0455 GMT), Moon at Apogee

Thursday, Nov. 6 (0404 GMT), Moon First Quarter

Nov. 4, 6 Solar Theory
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§5.1-5.6
¢ Ptolemy: Extracts from the Almagest
Assignments: Evans: §§5.4, 5.6 in notebook

Thursday, Nov. 13 (0617 GMT), Moon Full

Friday, Nov. 14 (0959 GMT), Moon at Perigee

Nov. 11, 13 Solar Theory (cont'd)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§5.7-5.10
∞ Assignments: Evans: §§5.8, 5.10 in notebook

Wednesday, Nov. 19 (2131 GMT), Moon Third Quarter

Nov. 18, 20 The Fixed Stars
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§6.1-6.10
§     Observation: Evans §6.3 in notebook
Assignments: Evans: §§6.5, 6.7 in notebook
Calendar paper due 11/20

Thursday, Nov. 27 (1655 GMT), Moon New

Saturday, Nov. 29 (1655 GMT), Moon at Apogee

- - - - - - - - - - - - THANKSGIVING VACATION - - - - - - - - - - - -

Friday, Dec. 5 (2126 GMT), Moon First Quarter

Dec. 2, 4 Planetary Theory
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§7.1-7.14
Observation: Evans §7.3 in notebook
¶ Assignments: Evans: §§7.5, 7.8, 7.14 in notebook

Friday, Dec. 12 (1637 GMT), Moon Full

Friday, Dec. 12 (2137 GMT), Moon at Perigee

Dec. 9, 11 Planetary Theory (cont'd)
Prepare: Evans: Chapter §§7.15-7.22
• Assignments: Evans: §§7.16, 7.18, 7.22 in notebook

Friday, Dec. 19 (1029 GMT), Moon Third Quarter

Dec. 18, 8:00 am FINAL EXAM (Thursday)

Sunday, Dec. 21 (1204 GMT), Winter Solstice

Thursday, Dec. 27 (1223 GMT), Moon New

Saturday, Jan. 3 (00 GMT), Earth at Perihelion

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