This beyond-the-basics class is for the young astronomy enthusiast who wants wants to delve deeper into their knowledge of the Universe. The field of astronomy is constantly gaining new insight and making new discoveries. Each week’s data and research brings another amazing discovery.

This class is a student-directed discussion group of current events in astronomy. During each session, we focus on one particular area of astronomy. Together we will study at a mix of current journal articles, videos, research papers, and other multimedia outlets.

Student participation will be central to this class. Prior to class, students should research the weekly topic to find interesting current events and facts. The learners will be asked for input and to present their exciting astronomy topics and finds. This can range from the learner's personal experiences, science articles, videos, or any other relevant source.

If there is time at the end of class, we will play a trivia game like Blooket or Kahoots.

The schedule we will use will be as follows and will repeat at the end of 12-week cycle:

Topic 1: Our Solar System (November 5)
Topic 2: Space Telescopes, Probes, and Satellites (November 12)
Topic 3: Extrasolar Planets (November 19)
Topic 4: Nebulae (November 26)

Winter Break: Week of December 1 - Week of January 5

Topic 5: Dwarf Planets and Moon (January 14 )
Topic 6: Living in Space (January 21)
Topic 7: Aircraft and Spacecraft (January 26)
Topic 8: Mars' Missions: Past, Present, and Future (February 4)
Topic 9: Our Sun and Main Sequence Stars (February 11)
Topic 10: Giant, Supergiant, and Hypergiant Stars (February 18)
Topic 11: Supernovae and Variable Stars (February 25)
Topic 12: Black Holes (March 4)
Topic 13: Galaxies (March 11)
Topic  14: Quasars and Blazars (March 18)
Topic 15: Space Exploration and Free Talk (March 25)