Astronomy & Cosmology: From Big Bang to Multiverse

(4 Credits)

For thousands of years humans have studied the skies to help them grow crops, navigate the seas, and earn favor from their gods. We still look to the stars today to answer fundamental questions: How did the Universe begin? Will the Universe end, and if so, how? And what is our place in the Universe? Astronomy and Cosmology help us answer these questions. We have learned that our place in the Universe is not special: the Earth is not at the center of the Universe; the Sun is an ordinary star; and the Milky Way is an ordinary galaxy. Astronomers have even suggested that the Universe itself may not be unique. This course aims to understand the Universe from the Big Bang to its future.