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Podcast Profile: Astronomy 161 - Introduction to Solar System Astronomy

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47 episodes
2006 to 2009

Collection: Physics, Math, and Astronomy


Description (podcaster-provided):

Astronomy 161, Introduction to the Solar System, is the first quarter of
a 2-quarter introductory Astronomy for non-science majors taught at The
Ohio State University. This podcast presents audio recordings of
Professor Richard Pogge's lectures from his Autumn Quarter 2006 class.
All of the lectures were recorded live in 100 Stillman Hall on the OSU
Main Campus in Columbus, Ohio.


Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

➤ Intro solar-system astronomy lectures • units/coordinates, sky motions, seasons, Moon phases/eclipses • timekeeping/calendars • planetary motion history (Greek–Newton) • gravity/orbits/tides • light/atoms/spectroscopy/telescopes • Earth/Moon geology, atmospheres • planets, moons, rings, asteroids/comets, Kuiper Belt/Pluto debate, exoplanets

This podcast is an audio archive of live undergraduate lectures from an introductory Solar System astronomy course for non-science majors taught at The Ohio State University. Across the series, the instructor builds a foundation for understanding how astronomers describe the sky, measure physical quantities, and develop models that explain what we observe.

Early lectures establish the “toolkit” of astronomy: working with very large numbers and metric units, using astronomical distance scales such as the astronomical unit and light-year, and understanding basic sky vocabulary like stars, constellations, and naming conventions. The podcast then develops practical, Earth-based frameworks for observing the heavens, including angular measurement, latitude and longitude, and the concept of the celestial sphere and coordinate systems. With these in place, it explains the apparent daily and yearly motions of celestial objects as consequences of Earth’s rotation and orbit, leading into explanations of seasons, lunar phases, and solar and lunar eclipses. Timekeeping is treated as an astronomical problem as well, covering the origins of time zones and the logic behind calendars and leap years.

A major throughline is the historical and scientific progression from ancient Greek geocentric ideas to heliocentrism and modern physics. The lectures trace how planetary motions—especially retrograde motion—motivated successive models, culminating in the contributions of Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Galileo’s telescopic observations, and Newton’s laws of motion and universal gravitation. These ideas are then applied to orbits, tides, and physical evidence for Earth’s rotation and revolution.

The course also introduces the physical basis of astronomical observation: properties of light, brightness, and Doppler shifts; atomic structure and radioactivity; and how spectroscopy reveals composition and temperature. It surveys telescopes across optical, radio, and space-based astronomy.

The latter portion shifts into comparative planetology and Solar System formation, using Earth, the Moon, and planetary bodies as case studies. Topics include planetary interiors, atmospheres and greenhouse warming, geological history, gas and ice giants, moons and rings, asteroids and meteoroids, Kuiper Belt objects and comets, and debates over planet definitions. The series concludes by extending Solar System concepts to planets around other stars and the main methods used to detect them.


Episodes:
Welcome to Astronomy 161
2006-Sep-18

Lecture 2: Astronomical Numbers
2006-Sep-21

Lecture 3: The Starry Night
2006-Sep-22

Lecture 4: Measuring the Earth
2006-Sep-25

Lecture 5: Mapping Earth and Sky
2006-Sep-26

Lecture 6: Daily and Annual Motions
2006-Sep-27

Lecture 7: The Four Seasons
2006-Sep-28

Lecture 8: Phases of the Moon
2006-Sep-29

Lecture 9: Eclipses of the Sun and Moon
2006-Oct-02

Lecture 10: Telling Time
2006-Oct-03

Lecture 11: The Calendar
2006-Oct-04

Lecture 12: The Wanderers - Planetary Motions
2006-Oct-05

Lecture 13: Greek Astronomy
2006-Oct-09

Lecture 14: The Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus
2006-Oct-10

Lecture 15: The Watershed: Tycho and Kepler
2006-Oct-11

Lecture 16: Galileo and the Telescope
2006-Oct-12

Lecture 17: On the Shoulders of Giants: Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion
2006-Oct-13

Lecture 18: The Apple and the Moon - Newtonian Gravity
2006-Oct-16

Lecture 19: Orbits
2006-Oct-17

Lecture 20: Tides
2006-Oct-18

Lecture 21: The Rotation and Revolution of the Earth
2006-Oct-19

Lecture 22: Light the Messenger
2006-Oct-23

Lecture 23: Worlds Within: Atoms
2006-Oct-24

Lecture 24: Matter and Light
2006-Oct-25

Lecture 25: Measuring Light - Spectroscopy
2006-Oct-26

Lecture 26: Telescopes
2006-Oct-27

Lecture 27: Deep Time - The Age of the Earth
2006-Oct-30

Lecture 28: Inside the Earth
2006-Oct-31

Lecture 29: The Earth's Atmosphere
2006-Nov-01

Lecture 30: The Moon
2006-Nov-02

Lecture 31: The Family of the Sun
2006-Nov-06

Lecture 32: The Origin of the Solar System
2006-Nov-07

Lecture 33: Battered Mercury
2006-Nov-08

Lecture 34: Venus Unveiled
2006-Nov-09

Lecture 35: The Deserts of Mars
2006-Nov-13

Lecture 36: Worlds in Comparison - The Terrestrial Planets
2006-Nov-14

Lecture 37: Jupiter and Saturn
2006-Nov-15

Lecture 38: Uranus and Neptune
2006-Nov-16

Lecture 39: The Moons of Jupiter
2006-Nov-20

Lecture 40: The Saturn System
2006-Nov-21

Lecture 41: Planetary Rings
2006-Nov-22

Lecture 42: Asteroids and Meteoroids
2006-Nov-27

Lecture 43: Icy Worlds of the Outer Solar System
2006-Nov-28

Lecture 44: Comets
2006-Nov-29

Lecture 45: Is Pluto a Planet?
2006-Nov-30

Lecture 46: ExoPlanets - Planets around Other Stars
2006-Dec-01

Astronomy 141 Podcast Teaser
2009-Dec-06