Confronting The Big Questions: Highlights of Modern Astronomy

About this course: An introduction to modern astronomy's most important questions. The four sections of the course are Planets and Life in The Universe; The Life of Stars; Galaxies and Their Environments; The History of The Universe.

Created by:  University of Rochester

• Taught by:  Adam Frank, Professor

  Physics and Astronomy

Commitment 3-4 hours/week Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.7 stars Average User Rating 4.7See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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University of Rochester The University of Rochester is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University provides exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by its Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Are we alone in the Universe?
Planets and Life in The Universe - Exoplanets searches, exoplanet census, astrobiology


20 videos, 8 readings expand

1. Reading: General Overview
2. Reading: Grading and Logistics
3. Reading: Syllabus
4. Reading: About the Professor
5. Reading: About the Teaching Assistant
6. Reading: Optional Readings
7. Reading: Exercises and Activities
8. Reading: Lecture Notes
9. Video: Introduction
10. Video: Scientific Notation
11. Video: Our Place in the Cosmos
12. Video: Comparative Planetology
13. Video: Terrestrial Planets
14. Video: Giant Planets
15. Video: Gas Vs Ice Giants
16. Video: Construction Debris
17. Video: Exoplanets
18. Video: Understanding Ellipses
19. Video: Radial Velocities and the Doppler Shift
20. Video: Transiting Planets
21. Video: The Habitable Zone
22. Video: What Exoplanets Have Taught Us
23. Video: Condensation Theory
24. Video: Planet Formation
25. Video: Basic Chemistry
26. Video: DNA and RNA
27. Video: Appearance of Life
28. Video: Are We Alone?

Graded: Week 1 Quiz

WEEK 2


How do Stars Evolve and Die?
The Life of Stars - Star formation, fusion and stellar middle age, black holes and stellar death-


19 videos expand

1. Video: Stars - Introduction
2. Video: Nuclear Fusion
3. Video: The Nature of Light
4. Video: Quantum Physics
5. Video: Measuring Stars
6. Video: Forming a Protostar
7. Video: Brown Dwarfs And Very Low Mass Stars
8. Video: The Structure of a G2 Main Sequence Star
9. Video: Solar Magnetic Features
10. Video: Red Giants and Planetary Nebulae
11. Video: White Dwarfs
12. Video: Supernovas and Neutron Stars
13. Video: Frames of Reference
14. Video: Special Relativity
15. Video: General Relativity
16. Video: Escape Velocity
17. Video: Black Holes
18. Video: Journey into a Black Hole
19. Video: Answering the Question

Graded: Week 2 Quiz

WEEK 3


What Exists Outside our Galaxy?
Galaxies and Their Environments - Galaxy types, Active Galactic Nuclei, Clusters of Clusters of Galaxies


17 videos expand

1. Video: Galaxies Introduction
2. Video: Interstellar Medium
3. Video: Galactic Distances
4. Video: Climbing the Cosmic Distance Ladder
5. Video: Type Ia Supernovae
6. Video: Metallicity
7. Video: The Milky Way
8. Video: The Galactic Disk
9. Video: The Stellar Halo and the Bulgy Bar
10. Video: The Galactic Center
11. Video: Galactic Zoology
12. Video: Introduction to Dark Matter
13. Video: Types of Active Galactic Nuclei
14. Video: Unified Model for AGN
15. Video: Galaxy Groups and Clusters
16. Video: Superclusters
17. Video: Answering the Question

Graded: Week 3 Quiz

WEEK 4


What is the Fate of the Universe?
The History of The Universe - Why the Big Bang? A History of Time, What Happened Before the Big Bang


15 videos expand

1. Video: Introduction
2. Video: Hubble’s Law and the Big Bang
3. Video: Space-Time and Quantum Fields
4. Video: The Standard Model of Particle Physics
5. Video: Dark Matter
6. Video: In the Beginning
7. Video: Phase Transitions in the Early Universe
8. Video: BBN and Recombination
9. Video: Observational Evidence
10. Video: The Beginning of Large Scale Structure
11. Video: The Era of Quasars
12. Video: Dark Energy and Cosmic Destiny
13. Video: The Multiverse
14. Video: Recap-History of the Cosmos
15. Video: Answering the Question

Graded: Week 4 Quiz