Description
How do we make calendars? This lecture explores the astronomical
origins of our calendars. We start by discussing lunar and solar
calendars and their hybrids in history and tradition (for example, the
Islamic Lunar Calendar and the Hebrew Luni-Solar Calendar), and then
describe the Julian and Gregorian Calendar reforms that attempt to align
the calendar with the seasons of the year with greater degrees of
precision. Recorded 2007 Oct 3 in 1000 McPherson Lab on the Columbus
campus of The Ohio State University.
A new podcast, Astronomy 141, Life in the Universe, is available
for those interested in continuing an exploration of topics in
modern astronomy.
Published 12/06/09
Are we alone in the Universe? This lecture explores the question of how
we might go about finding life on planets around other stars. Rather
than talking about speculative ideas, like the Drake Equation or SETI, I
am instead taking the approach of posing it as a problem of what to look
for...
Published 11/30/07