Astronomy Laboratory

--History of Astronomy

1. The class will first be assembled into five groups.
2. Each group will be given the name of an individual whose work was significant in the history of astronomy. The members of each group will read the section of the book related to their assigned historical figure. They will then converse, exchange ideas, and develop an overview of that individual’s contributions. The overview should be guided by the following questions:
1. What did the individual theorize or do that was significant?
2. Whose work did they build upon?
3. What has proven to be accurate about their work?
4. What has proven to be inaccurate?
5. Ultimately, what was their contribution?
3. Once the group members have developed their overview (and outlined it), they will be placed into a group with members from other groups. Each member will then “teach” the others about the historic figure they have researched. All members of each group are responsible for all information.

Nicolaus Copernicus, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the revolutions of the celestial spheres). The Copernican system of the world, in which the Sun is at rest in the centre of the Universe. Copernicus shows only the order of the spheres. There is no attempt to show their relative sizes.