| THEME #1: SCIENTIFIC TRUTH |
| PREHISTORY: THE ROOTS OF ASTRONOMY (prior to 500 BCE) |
Theme: The Cosmic Quest- the search to find our place in the universe. |
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Chapter 1 – “SETTING THE SCENE” – the dawn of mankind |
9 |
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Chapter 2 – “THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH” – the philosophical foundations of the scientific view |
13 |
| THE SKY ABOVE AND THE EARTH BECOW |
Theme: The starry vault of night becomes the inspiration of ancient culture’s religions. |
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Chapter 3 – “THE BOWL OF NIGHT” – motions in the sky |
19 |
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Chapter 4 – “SKYWATCHERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD” – archeoastronomy: Cave Dwellers to Medicine Wheel. |
23 |
| THEME #2: THE OLD VIEW |
| CHAOS TO COSMOS: GREEKS, ROMANS, CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS (500 BCE to 1000 CE) |
Theme: The philosophers of classical Greece find a geometrical logic and design to the structure of the heavens. |
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Chapter 5 – “THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES” – early Greek astronomy: Ionia to the Pythagoreans. |
31 |
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Chapter 6 – “THE LOGIC OF THE HEAVENS” – the Socratic philosophers. |
35 |
| THE COSMIC GEOMETRY |
Theme: Later Greek philosophers perfect the geocentric model of the universe. |
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Chapter 7 – “WHEELS ON WHEELS” – Ptolemy and the later Greek philosophers. |
39 |
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Chapter 8 – “IDEALS AND PERFECTION” – the Greek ideal of art and architecture. |
43 |
| MICROCOSM AND MACROCOSM |
Theme: The Greek cosmic model forms the basis for Roman society, and becomes God’s divine plan for Christians. |
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Chapter 9 – “EMPEROR,GOD,AND COSMOS” – Roman, Christian, and Muslim cosmology. |
47 |
| THEME #3: THE NEW VIEW |
| THE REBIRTH OF MANKIND – THE RENAISSANCE (1200 to 1500) |
Theme: The paradigm shifts. The Renaissance brings new horizons and new view-points for mankind and cosmos.
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Chapter 10 – “THE NEW PERSPECTIVE” – Renaissance Art and Humanism. |
55 |
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Chapter 11 – “NEW VIEWS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH” – the visions of Luther and Columbus. |
61 |
| THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION (1500 to 1700) |
Theme: A new model of the universe takes shape as Copernicus removes the earth from the center and Kepler discovers the mathematics of planetary motion. |
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Chapter 12 – “THE EARTH MOVES!” – Copernicus and a new model of the universe. |
67 |
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Chapter 13 – “A MATHEMATICAL UNIVERSE” – Brahe and Kepler: the mathematics of the cosmos. |
79 |
| THE CLASH OF SCIENCE AND RECIGION |
Theme: Galileo observes the heavens with a telescope and finds new evidence for the Copernican Theory. He tried by the Inquisition for heresy. The science scene shifts to England, where Newton unites the physics of heaven and earth. |
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Chapter 14 – “THE CRIME OF GALILEO” – Galileo, the Pope, and the battle for men’s minds. |
89 |
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Chapter 15 – “THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND EARTH” – Newton and the physics of the universe. |
103 |
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Chapter 16 – “THE CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE” – fate, free will, and the clockwork universe. |
111 |
| THEME #4: THE MODERN VIEW |
| THE POST-NEWTONIAN AGE: THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD VIEW (1700 to 1900) |
Theme: The scientific method takes form and transforms the world view. The Enlightenment. |
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Chapter 17 – “SCIENTISTS, ARTISTS, REVOLUTIONS – science, societies, art, politics. |
115 |
| THE 18th and 19th CENTURY: A VISION OF AN INFINITE UNIVERSE (1700 to 1900) |
Theme: 18th and 19th century astronomers sweep the skies and discover new words and other suns in our galaxy |
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Chapter 18 – “THE MEASURE OF THE EARTH” – the voyages of discovery; the longitude problem. |
121 |
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Chapter 19 – “THE FAMILY OF THE SUN, 1” – the discovery of the solar system: Vulcan to Mars. |
127 |
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Chapter 20 – “THE FAMILY OF THE SUN, 2” – the discovery of the solar system: Uranus to Pluto. |
135 |
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Chapter 21 – “THE COSMIC PINWHEEL, 1” – the discovery of our galaxy, from Herschel to Laplace. |
141 |
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Chapter 22 – “THE COSMIC PINWHEEL, 2” – the discovery of our galaxy, from to Shapley to Baade |
145 |
| THE 20th CENTURY: A BRAVE NEW UNIVERSE (1900 to 2000) |
Theme: In the 20th century the astronomers discover an endless universe of galaxies, and question if we are alone.
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Chapter 23 – “STELLAR EVOLUTION” -the birth and death of stars. |
153 |
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Chapter 24 – “A JOURNEY TO OZ” -the search for life in the universe. |
163 |
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Chapter 25 – “HUBBLE’S UNIVERSE” – The great telescopes, Hubble and the discovery of the galaxies |
173 |
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Chapter 26 – “THE SEARCH FOR THE YEAR 0” – superclusters and H₀ |
181 |
| THEME #5: LINGERING QUESTIONS |
| THE 21st CENTURY: BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS (1900 to present) |
Theme: As the 20th century ends, astronomy, and theology appear to be asking the same kinds of questions |
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Chapter 27 – “EINSTEIN AND RELATIVITY – 4 dimensions and the shape of space. |
187 |
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Chapter 28 – COSMOLOGY” -the fate of the universe. |
201 |
| POSTSCRIPT |
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209 |
| Appendix #1 |
CHAPTER OUTLINES |
213 |
| Appendix #2. |
MOTIONS IN THE HEAVENS |
227 |
| Appendix #3. |
“GALILEO TONIGHT!” -a play |
229 |
| Appendix #4. |
READINGS |
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