Introduction to Astronomy


Dr. Mitrović's Lecture Clips (audio + video, mp4) and (audio only, mp3)
  • Our Home Planet, Earth (1:47): mp4 , mp3
  • How the Ancients Knew that the Earth is Round, (7:53): mp4 , mp3
  • The Earth's Rotation and its Motion about the Sun, (5:10): mp4 , mp3
  • The Earth and its Moon: The Speed of Light, (5:56): mp4 , mp3
  • The Astronomical Unit (AU); the Light-Minute; Scientific Notation, (9:04): mp4 , mp3
  • The Terrestrial Planets, (4:26): mp4 , mp3
  • The Jovian Planets and the Dwarf Planet Pluto, (2:18):mp4 , mp3
  • The Outer Reaches of the Solar System: The Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud; Comets, (3:22): mp4 , mp3
  • The Star Nearest to Our Sun; the Light-Year, (3:57): mp4 , mp3
  • Star Clusters, (2:01): mp4 , mp3
  • The Milky Way Galaxy, (6:30): mp4 , mp3
  • Galaxy Clusters, Galaxy Superclusters, and Cosmic Filaments, (5:53): mp4 , mp3

Dr. Mitrović's Lecture Notes (pdf)

Additional Sources of Information
  • Why study astronomy?
    • the role of astronomy in the development of science
    • astronomical discoveries revolutionized human understanding of the universe and our place in it
    • astronomy as part of human culture
  • Visual simulation of the evolution of the universe: (BBC)
  • music: The Planets, composed by Gustav Holst, performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan (52:12)