About Course

Welcome to astronomy. By selecting a class in astronomy, you have chosen the oldest and arguably the most visually beautiful of the sciences. It is a unique science in that virtually all of the discoveries in astronomy have been made through indirect means. Other than the Earth (and a few items from space which have fallen onto it), the Moon is the only place that humankind has physically touched.

There have been remote soil sample tests done on the Viking mission to Mars and probes, such as Voyager, have been sent to the outer reaches of the solar system, but none of these missions have returned any material for human hands to touch.

Yet, remarkably, astronomers are still able to make very accurate measurements of the cosmos. In this course, you will learn that current theories in astronomy are based on a solid mathematical foundation corroborated at times by data seen in the electromagnetic spectrum. The ingenious methods that great minds, past and present, have used to advance our knowledge of the universe are amazing.

This class will appeal to both the casual stargazer and to the stargazer who has a more in-depth interest in the fascinating, sometimes inconceivable, phenomena that occur throughout space.

Course Description

This course introduces you to the composition and structure of the universe. We begin with the night sky and some of the tools of astronomy. We also explore the history of astronomy, to give you an understanding of the foundation on which the theories of astronomy have been built. With this basic background information, you will then tour the universe, beginning with our own solar system, and working your way out to the farthest reaches of deep space (2nd semester).

The layout of each of the lessons is fairly consistent. Background material is provided, after which students are asked to visit various Internet sites for further information and interactive multimedia presentations. Students are then required to take an online multiple-choice quiz and write a 100–200 word essay on a selected topic from the lesson. Although you may encounter various algebraic equations at some of the sites you visit, my goal is that you understand the concepts behind the equations more than solving the equations themselves.

Because you will be answering your essays online, I strongly suggest that you use a word-processing program to write each essay question, and then copy and paste your essays into the form. The advantage to this is that you will have a backup of your answers in case something goes wrong in the form transmission.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about this course.