Ever look up at the sky and wonder about life on other planets? How do we explore the planets in our own Solar System? How have astronomers developed our understanding of our place in the universe? How have astronomers discovered planets orbiting in our Solar System?

Students will be able to describe the origin and behavior of the Solar System and the planets. They will demonstrate an understanding of the Sun, planets, comets, asteroids, rings, and moons of the Solar System. They will also be able to describe the methods used to search for exoplanets and current theories in astrobiology and the search for life in the universe. 

The class will be structured around presentations and video clips about the various topics. They will be assignments each week to test student's knowledge and understanding. The course breakdown is as follows:

Week 1: Observing the sky. Students will demonstrate an understanding of celestial coordinate system and how to locate objects in the night sky.

Week: 2: Ancient astronomy from the Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, to the Chinese, the Mayans, and other ancients cultures. Students will learn how ancient people used the sky to measure the passage of time.

Week 3: The Copernican Revolution: How Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton changed the way we view our place in the universe.

Week 4: Electromagnetic radiation: Students will demonstrate an understanding the nature of light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation.

Week 5: Telescopes: Students will gain an understanding of the major types of telescopes, refractors and reflectors, and how astronomers use them to study stars and planets.

Week 6: Introduction to the Solar System: Students will explore the origin of the Solar System and take an inventory of the planets, asteroids, and comets.

Week 7: Exploration of the Solar System: The history of rocketry and missions to explore the Solar System, from the Apollo missions of the 1960s, the Voyager and Viking programs of the 1970s, through the modern era of rovers and oribters used to explore Mars, Jupiter, and the other planets.

Week 8: The Earth-Moon: History and origin of the Earth and Moon, will special emphasis on how the Moon's gravity and rotation influences the tides as well as the nature of eclipses. 

Week 9: Planetary Geology: What are the terrestrial planets made of? How do be determine the age of rocks? 

Week 10: The terrestrial planets: Exploring Mercury, Venus, and Mars and how they differ from the Earth and each other, with emphasis on the possibility of life on Mars.

Week 11: Will we live on Mars one day? What would it takes to send people to Mars? How will they survive? Can we terraform Mars to make it more like Earth?

Week 12: The Jovian planets. Exploring Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Week 12: Rings, moons, and Kuiper Belt objects: What are Saturn's rings made of? What are the moons of the Jovian planets like? Could their be liquid water beneath the surface of Europa? What is the surface of Titan like? Why is Pluto no longer considered a planet and what is a Kuiper Belt object? These questions and more will be answered.

Week 13: The Sun: What is the Sun made of and how does it generate its energy through nuclear fusions?

Week 14: Exoplanets and Extraterrestrial Life: How doe astronomers find planets orbiting other stars besides our own? What can be tell about their properties? Are we likely to find life beyond the Earth? Is there anybody out there or are we alone?