Audience & Goals

The Goals of Introductory Astronomy are to:

• provide students with a greater understanding of the organization of the universe.
• help students gain a greater appreciation for the balance of nature.
• help students better understand the magnitude of the universe.
• provide students with an understanding of the fundamental laws that govern the universe.
• provide opportunities for students to learn about phenomena well outside of their ordinary experiences.
• provide dynamic and interactive resources for students to visualize astronomical concepts more easily.
• provide opportunities for students from different geographical areas to exchange ideas and opinions.
• help students better understand the evolutionary processes that take place in the universe.
• provide opportunities for students to explore the biographies of famous astronomers.
• allow students to speculate about the existence of life beyond our planet.

The Objectives of Introductory Astronomy are to:

• explain how the universe is driven by energy and entropy.
• explain the interrelationship between variables in astronomical equations.
• identify several scientific personalities and their contributions to astronomy.
• describe how models of the universe are developed through observation, experimentation, and mathematics.
• describe the general composition and arrangement of the universe.
• describe the evolutionary processes of the stars, galaxies, solar system, and the large-scale structure of the universe.
• identify several different natural cycles that take place in the universe.
• describe several natural laws and how they govern the state of the universe.
• support an opinion about whether or not life beyond Earth exists.