For more than 2000 years, every leap in human understanding of the universe and the laws of the universe depends on a better measurement of the distance of more distant celestial bodies. This lecture will review the human method of ranging celestial bodies for 2000 years, and take you from the Earth Moon system to the era of galactic cosmology.

For more than 2000 years, every leap in human understanding of the universe and the laws of the universe depends on a better measurement of the distance of more distant celestial bodies. This lecture will review the human method of ranging celestial bodies for 2000 years, and take you from the Earth Moon system to the era of galactic cosmology.