Kepler orbits
Simulate a planet’s orbit and check Kepler’s three laws.
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Physics & maths · 23Beginner
Amateur Astronomer & Science Communicator
Sky enthusiasts or science communicators.
The functions and mechanics you need, then modern physics, extragalactic astronomy and cosmology with Cambridge.
169hours of coursework
17weeks at 10 h
4steps
12courses
4universities
Target skills
Mathematical ModelingPhysicsData AnalysisApplied MathematicsGraphingAlgebraCalculusMechanicsGeometryTrigonometryR (Software)Mechanical Engineering
Skill labels as listed on Coursera.
Target jobs
- Science communicator
- Planetarium presenter
- Amateur astronomer
Progression
- 1Johns Hopkins UniversityBeginnerR
Stated prerequisites: Some high school algebra and function basics
Show the 3 courses
Course Level Length Rating (reviews) Precalculus: Relations and Functions Beginner 12 h 4.7 (231) Precalculus: Periodic Functions Beginner 9 h 4.7 (110) Precalculus: Mathematical Modeling Beginner 10 h 4.8 (98) - 2Rice UniversityIntermediate
Stated prerequisites: Algebra, geometry, trigonometry; basic calculus helpful
Show the 3 courses
Course Level Length Rating (reviews) Physics 101 - Forces and Kinematics Intermediate 30 h 4.7 (210) Physics 101 - Energy and Momentum Intermediate 23 h 4.6 (49) Physics 101 - Rotational Motion and Gravitation Intermediate 28 h 4.8 (104) - 3The Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyBeginner
Stated prerequisites: Basic classical physics and calculus (highly recommended)
Show the 3 courses
Course Level Length Rating (reviews) Understanding Modern Physics I: Relativity and Cosmology Beginner 11 h 4.6 (174) Understanding Modern Physics II: Quantum Mechanics and Atoms Beginner 11 h 4.6 (71) Understanding Modern Physics III: Simplicity and Complexity Beginner 7 h 4.8 (34) - 4University of CambridgeBeginner
Show the 3 courses
Course Level Length Rating (reviews) An Introduction to Astronomy Beginner 9 h — Extra-Galactic Astronomy Intermediate 8 h — Cosmology Intermediate 11 h —
With Coursera Plus
This path takes 169 hours, about 4 months at 10 hours a week. A Coursera Plus subscription gives access to most of its courses during that time.
Projects to build
Galaxy rotation curve
Plot star speeds against distance and explain the dark matter argument.
Measure the Hubble constant
Estimate H0 from public supernova data and discuss the uncertainty.
Free textbooks
University Physics, Volumes 1 to 3OpenStaxFree, CC BY 4.0
Cosmology (lecture notes)David Tong, CambridgeFree notes
The Feynman Lectures on PhysicsR. P. Feynman, R. B. Leighton, M. SandsFree to read online