In this ten week course for teens, learners will gain a foundation in the field of astronomy. We will cover key concepts such as stellar and planetary formation, galaxies, black holes, cosmology, and exoplanets.  

We will investigate questions such as:
What is astronomy?
How do telescopes work?
What kinds of planets are there?
What is nuclear fusion?
How do galaxies form?

This is a highly interactive course. Students will learn through an image and video filled presentation and discussion. Students’ participation and questions are regularly encouraged. Classes are designed to encourage student engagement and follow their curiosity.

Optional videos and additional material will be posted in the classroom between live meetings. 


Week 1 – FOUNDATIONS
	The Scientific Method
	Measurements of Distance
	Earth and the Moon
	Laws of Planetary Motion
	Newton’s Laws

Week 2 – GRAVITY AND LIGHT
	The Fundamental Forces
	Gravity
	General Relativity
	The Electromagnetic Spectrum
	Thermal Radiation
	Spectroscopy

Week 3 – TELESCOPES
	Optical Telescopes 
	Radio Telescopes
	Space-Based Telescopes 

Week 4 – SOLAR SYSTEMS
	Our Solar System
	Formation
	Interplanetary Matter
	Other Solar Systems

Week 5 – PLANETS
	Definitions
	Formation
	Types
	The Terrestrial Planets
	Jovian planets
	Dwarf Planets
	Satellite Planets

Week 6 – Sub-Planetary Bodies
	Moons
	Rings
	Asteroids
	Comets

Week 7 – STARS
	The Sun
	Stellar Lifecycle	
	Luminosity
	Apparent Brightness
	Mass
	Temperatures
	Sizes
	Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
	

Week 8 – BLACK HOLES AND NEUTRON STARS
	Supernovae
	Neutron Stars
	Pulsars
	Magnetars
	Black Holes

Week 9 – EXOPLANETS
	Definitions
	Detection	
	Classification

Week 10 – GALAXIES AND THE COSMOS
	The Milky Way
	Galactic Structures
	Hubble’s Classification
	Laniakea
	The Cosmic Web
	The Big Bang and Early Universe
	

There is no textbook for this class. All necessary learning materials will be provided in the classroom.

There are no prerequisites for this class. While we will discuss some of the mathematics used in astronomy, learners will not need to use math in this course, unless they would like to for “extra credit”.