The course timeline is shown below. There is no exam. Instead, continuous assessment comes in form of weekly assignments and learning diaries. The three-credit course work consists of

  • twelve lectures, each with
    • preliminary work (reading an article, watching a video, etc.) and
    • assignments (short essay, questionnaire, reading, etc., with deadline at the end of the week),
  • two evaluation sessions during the exam weeks, with no lecture but other activities, and
  • four learning diary submissions (LD), with specific deadlines, and
  • participation in peer and self assessment for three LDs.
  • There is also an excursion outside the lecture time, on Thursday 28. February 2019, at 18-20, in Helsinki.

Click here for a graph showing the distribution of workload across the different tasks, and the effect each task has on the final grade.

Final deadline for all course-related work is Tuesday 9.4.2019 at 23:55. The grades and credits are expected by 30.4.2019.


Course timeline

Updates: Lectures 9 & 11 changed place; on 12.3. is a guest lecture by Prof. (emer.) Esko Valtaoja, and Joni's "Modern astronomical worldview" is on 26.3.

L   Date Topic Theme LD DL
1
 8.1.
 Introduction and cosmic scales
  Background, basic celestial mechanics 29.1.
2
 15.1. Solar system
3
 22.1.
 Celestial mechanics from the ...
4
 29.1. One planet, one sky, one people   Ancient astronomy, from myths to science 19.2.
5
 5.2. "Sancta terra"
6
 12.2. Towards scientific astronomy
ES1
 19.2.   Evaluation session (class)   [submit the 2nd LD only after this one]
7
 26.2. The past 100 years   Modern astronomy, year 2000 ± century 19.3.
8
 5.3. Astronomy in the 21st century
9
 12.3. Astrobiology (by Esko Valtaoja)
10 19.3. Art and science fiction   Astronomy and society, art, biology, future, ... 9.4.
11 26.3. Modern astronomical worldview
12 2.4. Big open questions
ES2
 9.4. Evaluation session (online, reserve 2 hours for this during the day)
Last modified: Tuesday, 5 March 2019, 12:25 PM