INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY
(PHYS 206)

Have you ever wanted to know ... ?

• Are there really Black Holes? (How do you look for something that you can't see?)
• What's the difference between: A Quasar and a Pulsar? A Nova and a Supernova? A Red Giant and a White Dwarf?
• Is there life on Mars? Or elsewhere in the Universe?
• When was the Big Bang? Is the Universe really expanding? Will it go on expanding forever?
• Why is the Moon sometimes up in the daytime?
• Where is the North Star, anyway?
• When is the next "Comet of the Century"?
• Will an asteroid really hit the Earth?

Introduction to Astronomy (PHYS 206) is a descriptive survey course in modern astronomy, suitable for students of all backgrouds and majors. Topics will include: the Solar System, the Sun, the Birth, Life, and Death of Stars and Stellar Systems, Galaxies, the Possiblity of Life in the Universe, Relativity, and Cosmology. There will also be a "laboratory" component to the course, designed to introduce the student to the basic principles of modern observational astronomy, combining indoor laboratory and computer-based activities, with occasional outdoor observing sessions.