ASTR 123 -- Galax & Expand Univers

Artist's conception of the very early universe - Adolf Schaller, Courtesy NASA [link]

Expanded course description

The course is an introduction to the science of astronomy for non-science majors with an emphasis on the Universe outside of our galaxy and cosmology. The past 10 years has seen an explosion in our understanding of the contents, formation and evolution of the Universe.

Changes in our understanding of fundamental physics, combined with discoveries from space and ground-based telescopes, have led to a radically different model of our place in the Universe and its origins.
The field of cosmology is science's newest endeavor into the most basic questions of humankind's existence; where do we come from and what is our fate? Cosmology is the meeting point of observational astronomy, philosophy and particle physics. However, unlike philosophy, cosmology engages Nature providing a foundation based in observation and experience.

The specific goals of this class are 1) to gain an understanding of basic science that underlies Astronomy (the forum is modern cosmology), 2) to understand the properties of the objects that make up our Universe, 3) to formulate a coherent philosophy for interpreting the observational evidence of the hot Big Bang and relating this world-view to new areas of research. In addition, this course traces the history of cosmology in order to explore how the scientific method works and how civilization has gained from the progress of science and technology. The interplay between technology (telescopes, space observatories) and knowledge gained about the Universe is a key theme to the course.

Group: SCI

Offered 200701.

Syllabus

Although syllabi can change from term to term, a syllabus may provide further information about typical instances of this course.