aller au menu   |   aller au contenu

www.cnes.fr www.issat.com
Space Education Catalogue

Courses

MOOC Mesurer l'Univers

Course Details

Objectives : This astronomy course is part of a series of physics courses that will give you the necessary foundations to approach astrophysics.

Simple observation of the night sky does not tell us the distances that separate us from this multitude of stars. The Sun, the Moon, the planets are distinguished by their size and their movement and little by little, we will be able to measure the universe. We will see that it is essential to have an a priori idea of the organization of the sky in order to be able to carry out measurements. Generations of astronomers have succeeded each other to refine from century to century our perception and our knowledge of distances in the universe.

Through this MOOC, we want to show you how the reasoning took place that led us to our current knowledge of the universe. We will discuss the notions of astrometry, reference systems, celestial mechanics and time measurement, all of these notions being essential for measuring the universe. This is what we call fundamental astronomy which will allow all other branches of astronomy to be located in space-time.

In this course, we will use mathematical formalism from time to time, however, we limit ourselves most of the time to tools known to a scientific baccalaureate. For those who want to go further, “to learn more” sequences as well as written documents which complement the videos will offer additional information.

“Understanding and Structuring the Universe” Collection

This course is part of the collection of thematic MOOCs "Understanding and Structuring the Universe", offered by the Paris Observatory and PSL. This collection is produced by S. Ayadi, G. Bessou, T. Boulogne and E. Bron from the TICE cell of the Paris Observatory and is coordinated by Chantal Balkowski and Mathieu Puech, astronomers at the Paris Observatory.

Duration and terms : 5 weeks

Partnerships with national organisations : Observatoire de Paris (PSL)

Dedicated web site : https://www.fun-mooc.fr/fr/cours/mesurer-lunivers/

Disciplines

Topics