Online Class: Current Discoveries of the Universe

When we think of famous astronomers and astronomical discoveries, we have a tendency to look far back in history. We often invoke the names of the great astronomers of the Renaissance, that time period when an enormous amount of knowledge was imparted to the world. But, in doing so, we neglect to pay homage to the Golden Age of Astronomy, which is happening right now. Some of the most profound questions about life are being answered by discoveries being made in our own lifetime, many even in the past decade. This course will explore many of these discoveries, with an emphasis on more recent discoveries that have given us insight into such tantalizing questions as: How did the Universe begin? When did it happen and under what conditions? How do stars form? What are they made of? How was the Earth formed? Are there other planets? Do they have life too?

We will start with the recent discoveries of Exoplanets, or planets that exist outside our solar system. We will explore the conditions that are necessary to form life on these planets. We will then move on discuss Dark Energy, this mysterious force that is believed to comprise most of the Universe. Other topics include the sensational discovery of the Higgs boson particle, a discovery that filled in one of the missing pieces of one the most important concepts in physics; we'll look at the age and expansion of the Universe, gamma-ray bursts, the mysterious Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, and the tantalizing concepts behind String Theory. This comprehensive course will take you on a journey to explore the deepest parts of the Universe and find answers to some of our most fundamental questions.