THE EVOLVING UNIVERSE: STARS, GALAXIES, AND COSMOLOGY
The cosmos is vast, mysterious, and beautiful. Join us on an exploration of the universe, from the big bang to the birth, life, and death of stars and the warped reality of black holes. Includes lifecycles of stars; supernovae and creation of elements; white dwarfs, pulsars and black holes; the Milky Way and galaxies; distances of stars and galaxies; quasars; expansion of universe; modern big bang cosmology, dark matter, dark energy.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: Satisfied Quantitative Reasoning (QR) A. Not open to students with credit for ASTRON 200 . Course Designation: Core GenEd - Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning Comm QR - Quantitative Reasoning B Breadth - Physical Science Level - Elementary L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Apply quantitative reasoning to evaluate scientific hypotheses to explain astronomical observations Audience: Undergraduate 2. Understand and apply--quantitatively--the scientific basis of astronomical concepts such as the Hubble law, the inverse square law, and Newtonian gravity. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Understand--qualitatively--and be able to explain to a lay audience the scientific basis for the laws of stellar structure and evolution Audience: Undergraduate 4. Critically evaluate qualitative scientific arguments using the scientific method Audience: Undergraduate 5. Write basic scientific prose for a variety of lay audiences Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Apply quantitative reasoning to evaluate scientific hypotheses to explain astronomical observations Audience: Undergraduate 2. Understand and apply--quantitatively--the scientific basis of astronomical concepts such as the Hubble law, the inverse square law, and Newtonian gravity. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Understand--qualitatively--and be able to explain to a lay audience the scientific basis for the laws of stellar structure and evolution Audience: Undergraduate 4. Critically evaluate qualitative scientific arguments using the scientific method Audience: Undergraduate 5. Write basic scientific prose for a variety of lay audiences Audience: Undergraduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027