Astronomy 1: The Big Questions of Astronomy
David Charbonneau
2023 Fall, Full Term
9/5/2023 to 12/20/2023
Tuesday and Thursday 10:30am – 11:45am, and an evening lab
Description:
We will discuss the big questions of astronomy that have engaged scientists and the general public alike for centuries: How did the universe begin? What is the ultimate fate of the Sun? How do planets form? Is there life outside the Solar system? Students will use telescopes to study the night sky and examine how the combination of astronomical observations and physical theory have led to an understanding of the vast and dynamic cosmos we inhabit.
A highlight of this course is a weekly section where students will meet in small groups with their teaching fellows to observe the night sky with the telescopes atop the Harvard Science Center. Please keep in mind that the weather over Cambridge can be ill-tempered and unpredictable, so sometimes it will be cloudy… or snowy… and on those nights we will still meet to examine archival data.