The Astronomy class is an Introduction to Astronomy (AST 1002). The students learn about the history how science evolved from the oldest of the sciences, about modern instrumentation and operations in Astronomy. They learn the basics of terrestrial and celestial navigation, constellations, the brightest stars, star birth, life and death. Lectures about galaxies and the cosmic evolution help understand how our universe works.

Curriculum

  • A Modern View of the Universe
  • The Science of Astronomy
  • Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity
  • Light: The Physics of Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Formation of the Solar System
  • Terrestrial Worlds: Earth, Venus, Mercury, and Mars
  • Jovian Planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
  • Asteroids, Comets, and Dwarf Planets
  • Other Planetary Systems, Exoplanets
  • Stars, Nuclear Fusion, Neutron Stars and Black Holes
  • Galaxies: The Milky Way and Beyond
  • Birth of the Universe
  • Dark Matter and Dark Energy
  • Life in the Universe

Students in the Astronomy Class learn the basic ingredients of how science evolved, and what modern science can achieve. Class meetings invite the students to examine scientific thinking and reasoning, to apply the scientific method, and lead them through examples which are easy to comprehend but have a deep philosophical meaning.

APOD : Astronomy Picture of the Day: have a look at a new astronomy-related image every day with a short description of its content and explanations written by an expert.

Perseid Meteor in front of M31

Perseid meteor. Image taken from APOD 08/12/2018. Image credit and copyright: Fritz Helmut Hemmerich, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Macaronesia, Spain.

Horsehead Nebula Toscana

Horsehead Nebula, Barnard 33. Image taken from APOD 05/13/2010. Image credit and copyright: Marco Burali, Tziano Capecchi, Marco Marcini, Osservatorio Pistoia, Toscana, Italy.