Advanced Astronomy

Learners will broaden and deepen their understanding of astronomy and the space sciences. We will explore advanced topics such as gravitational wave detection, the application of spectroscopy, the origins of gamma-ray bursts, and how our understanding of celestial phenomena have changed with new discoveries.

We will investigate questions such as:

How does spectroscopy work?
What are gamma-ray bursts?
What roles do the fundamental forces play in the Universe?
What methods are there for studying the cosmos that don’t use light?
How do we detect gravitational waves?
What are neutrino telescopes?
How has the field of astronomy evolved in the 21st century?

We will focus heavily on not only recent discoveries within astronomy but also on how discoveries are made. We will investigate key fields such as radio astronomy and spectroscopy, looking at not only how they work, but also what discoveries have been made with them.   

There is no textbook for this class. All necessary learning materials will be provided in the classroom. While we will discuss some of the mathematics used in astronomy, learners will not need to use math, unless they would like to for “extra credit”.

Learners do not need to be experts in astronomy, but it is assumed that they have some background knowledge in the areas of: stellar life cycles, light years and cosmic distances, galaxies, and optical telescopes.   

Learners will not need to leave the Outschool platform to watch the provided videos. 

Optional homework assignments are provided for each lesson in the form of 1-2 written questions and a short T/F quiz. Weekly feedback is provided and questions are highly encouraged!