February 12th, 2009 Josephine
Have you ever wondered:
How the universe started and how it might end?
How our galaxy and solar system formed?
If there is other life in the universe?
This is the course for you!!
Registration for Introduction to Astronomy is now open!!
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February 10th, 2009 Josephine
A sense of scale:
If the sun were the size of a volleyball and the Earth the size of a pea, they would be approximately 71 feet apart.
If our solar system were the size of a CD, then the Milky Way Galaxy would be the size of the Earth.
If the sun were the size of a golf ball in New York the next nearest star would be a golf ball in Chicago.
The Sun would hold approximately 1 million Earths.
There are 200 billion “Suns” in a galaxy like our own Milky Way Galaxy.
Astronomers can see billions of galaxies.
A sense of time:
If we compress the time since the beginning of the universe (13.5 billions years ago) into one year, and make the beginning January 1, then:
The Earth was formed in mid-September.
The mammals appeared in late December.
All human prehistory (from the first known stone tools) and history have occurred in the last hour of New Year’s Eve.
A sense of energy
At 40 MPH, car consumes about 10,000 watts of power
Hydrogen Bomb releases 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 watts
Sun steadily emits 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 watts, the power of 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 cars
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February 10th, 2009 Josephine
Lesson 1 – History and Observation
History of Astronomy
Observational Astronomy
Lesson 2 – The Solar System
Formation and Evolution of the Solar System
Composition of Bodies in the Solar System
Position and Motion of Bodies in the Solar System
Lesson 3 – Stars
Stellar Evolution and Life Cycle
Stellar Properties
Stellar Spectra
Stellar Distances and Parallax
Lesson 4 – Galaxies
The Milky Way and the Local Group
Classification of Galaxies
Interstellar Medium
Lesson 5 – The Universe
Distribution of Galaxies and Hubble s Law
Cosmology The Study of the Universe
The Big Bang
The Early Universe
Expansion of the Universe
The Fate of the Universe
The Multiverse and Theories of Everything
Lesson 6 – Life in the Cosmos
Searching for Other worlds
Habitability of Other worlds
Possibility of Life Beyond Earth
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