Classes
Contents |
Current/Upcoming Offerings
These courses are ongoing or starting soon. Check back frequently for updated offerings. Course descriptions are below.
The Sun and Stellar Evolution
Course dates: May 29 - June 24, 2013
Details and sign-up at EventBrite
General Courses
Unless otherwise stated, all general courses will meet for 8 one-hour sessions over 4 weeks. No prior knowledge of the topics is needed - we're looking for interested non-scientists and amateur scientists with a basic high school education.
CQX001 - Solar System Science
We'll be exploring our modern understanding of the solar system, planetary geology, and extrasolar planets. Learn about how solar systems form and how astronomers use all colors of light to study currently forming solar systems. Study the different types of planets, and how we currently define planets (and how maybe that definition should change). Explore all the ways that we are moving beyond our solar system and starting to explore planets orbiting alien stars.
Prerequisites: None.
Last Taught: July / August 2012
CQX002 - The Sun and Stellar Evolution
The Sun is a fascinating topic of study, which allows solar astronomers to better understand the physical processes in other stars. During this 4-week / 8-session course, we'll explore the Sun, and Solar Evolution from an astronomer's point of view. Our course will begin with an overview of the Sun, and solar phenomenon. We'll also explore how stars are formed, their life cycles, and the incredible events that occur when stars reach the end of their lives. The course will culminate with students doing a short presentation on a topic related to the Sun or Stellar Evolution.
CQX003 - Galaxies & Galaxy Clusters
Four Weeks, Eight Sessions:
Week 1.) Intro to Galaxies / "Island Universe" debate, Distance Scale
Week 2.) Galaxy classifications / The Milky Way
Week 3.) Structure of galaxies, Quasars, AGN, Redshift/Hubble constant
Week 4.) Intro to cosmology (Big Bang, Nucleosynthesis, Geometry of the Universe, dark matter/energy, and student project presentations.
Last offered: November/December 2012
CQX004 - Introduction to Cosmology
Cosmology is the study of the structure, contents, and evolution of the Universe as a whole. But what do cosmologists really study? In this 8-session course, we'll look at cosmology from an astronomy point of view: taking what seems like too big of a subject and showing how we can indeed study the Universe scientifically. The starting point is the smallest chunk of the Universe that is representative of everything we can see: the Cosmic Box. For more details, see the course announcement.
Last offered: April/May 2013
EPO Professional Development Sessions
Details TBA - check back soon for more information!