PODCAST

The Song of Urania

Joe Antognini

A history of astronomy, from antiquity to the present.

science astronomy

All Episodes

53:12

Episode 7: Greek Tales of Ancient Nights & Days

The Song of Urania ·

2021/07/24

As we start to examine the astronomy of Ancient Greece we hear of the myth cycles of Theseus and Perseus, episodes from both of which appear in the night sky. These myth cycles help us to understand the conception the ancient Greeks had to the civilizations that came before them, the Minoans and the Mycenaeans and prepare us for the early cosmology of ancient Greece.

39:39

Episode 6: System of a B

The Song of Urania ·

2021/06/25

We dive into the most sophisticated model of planetary and lunar motions that the Babylonians developed: System A and System B and see how the Babylonians used this method to predict eclipses, the length of months, and even measure the precession of the perihelion.

42:45

Episode 5: A System of Weights & Measures

The Song of Urania ·

2021/05/27

We look at how the Babylonians represented information in their astronomical tablets by examining their number system and the unit system. Then we dive into the Babylonian discovery of the Saros cycle, which was a deep regularity in the pattern of lunar eclipses.

51:59

Episode 4: The Astronomical Diaries

The Song of Urania ·

2021/04/27

We step back and look at Babylon's broader political history and see how Babylonian astronomy changes during the rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Persian Conquest. Then we look at some of the types of astronomical records the Babylonians produced, particularly the Astronomical Diaries, the longest continuous research program of any society in history.

42:28

Episode 3: When the Moon Disappears

The Song of Urania ·

2021/03/28

We look at how the Babylonians associated the heavens with their gods and how Mesopotamian astrology developed after the Assyrian conquest. We hear some examples of astrological omens and see how Babylonians handled the most malevolent of omens, the lunar eclipse.

45:34

Episode 2: The Stars over Babylon

The Song of Urania ·

2021/02/28

What are the earliest records of constellations? How did the ancient Babylonians keep track of their progress through the year? And how do we know what we know about Babylonia?

30:32

Episode 1: The Heavens & History

The Song of Urania ·

2021/01/29

How should we approach the history of astronomy? How have the questions that astronomers have asked changed through the ages? We look at some of these questions and sketch out the broad arc of this field from antiquity to the present day.

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The Song of Urania

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