Watch the entire series here: The Interlocked History of Gravity, Astronomy, and Light: Astronomy William Paterson University: This is part of my complete intro Astronomy class that I taught at Willam Paterson University and CUNY Hunter. If you want to watch all the videos in the correct order, please visit my website at Here we discuss the accomplishments (and failures) of Galileo Galilei, Father of Modern Science. Supplement the videos with "OpenStax Astronomy" 3: Orbits and Gravity Copernican Heliocentrism Galileo's ship Sidereus Nuncius Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems The Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Relating to Two New Sciences The Great Ptolemaic Smackdown Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel Pope Urban VIII This is part of Module 2 of 14 which details an entire online introductory college course. This video series was used at William Paterson University and CUNY Hunter in online classes as well as to supplement course material. In this lecture set, I discuss the accomplishments of Nicolas Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler in the advancement of science. Then, I move onto the accomplishments (and failures) of Galileo Galilei, Father of Modern Science. Next, we see the effect of Galileo's work around him and the work that surrounded him. Jeremiah Horrox predicted and observed a transit of Venus, the book Galileo should have written was finally done, the Geocentric model holds its head up for one more fight, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa legend was born. This leads us to Newton's Laws of Motion, and his Law of Gravity. We also talk about centers of mass and other things related to the understanding of orbits. They provide a framework for predicting the motions of the planets around the Sun. And how everything moves. Next, we take a diversion into the nature of mathematics. I find that a lot of people have a fear of math. I make it a point in my classes to overcome that fear if at all possible. After that, we discuss exactly how we know the Earth moves. We learn about parallax and stellar aberration. Finally, we can say for certain that the Earth moves, even though we don't feel it. Thus science gives us one of the first answers that goes against "common sense," but is nonetheless true. Then, we begin the discussion of the origin of our current understanding of the nature of light. We learn about the progress of both the particle and wave explanations of light through history. The penultimate lecture leads us to Newton's contribution to the understanding of light. We learn about his corpuscles and how they are not waves. We see their missteps and we learn from them. We also see how the science endeavor is a truly human one, with all our foibles and strengths on display. Overall, the segment emphasizes clear definitions, underlying geometry, and practical observing guidance so viewers can connect the concept to the real sky.