Our Place in the Cosmos (Coursera)

Week 1 - You will learn about the course and the specialization as a whole as well as the method used to guide you through the material. You will also get to meet the crew of the USS Pathway to Space. As your instructor and captain, I will create a unique and hopefully fun learning environment full of surprises and moments of connection with the material. We will also discuss how wonder started it all with our first guest, Dr. Valerio Ferme with Space and Wonder.

Week 2 - We have two topics and two guests this week. In A Tour of the Cosmos, with Dr. Erica Ellingson, we will guide you through all the grandeur of the cosmos from the size and scale to the timeline of its existence. In Astrophysics, with Dr. Kevin France, we will explore concept and merger of two great fields of study: Astronomy and Physics. The tools used by an astrophysicists are key to unlocking the cosmos. At the end of this week, you will have a better understanding of the cosmos and your place in it.

Week 3 - Space exploration can happen in two ways. By viewing there and going there. This week we will explore both methods. Our first lesson is with Dr. Paul Hayne and Dr. Carolyn Crow on Space Exploration-Going There. We will look at the stages of exploration and how the science changes at each point. Next, we will meet Dr. Kristy Tiampo as we discuss Space Exploration-Viewing There. We will dive deep into remote sensing work around Earth and how that technique of viewing can be applied throughout the cosmos.

Week 4 - This week, we will discuss some of the great science being conducted in the cosmos as well as our species search life elsewhere in the universe. We have three lessons this week. The first two are in two parts. Extending Science Beyond Earth. In Part 1, we meet Dr. Nick Schneider and discuss how the different wavelengths of light have allowed us to understand other planets like Mars but also Earth. In Part 2, we meet Dr. Dave Brain and discuss what we have learned about other planets in our solar system and compare those discoveries with our home planet. We will end with the Search for Life Elsewhere where our guest, Dr. Bruce Jakosky, and I discuss what is needed for life in the cosmos and where we might find it.

In these lessons, you will become a member of the crew of the USS Pathway to Space and together we will make the unknown, known. Your journey to discovering your pathway to space begins now.

Course 1 of 4 in the Pathway to Space Specialization.

What You Will Learn

- You will learn about the cosmos and your place in it, the ways we explore space, and how people and politics play a role in what we learn.

- Plus you will learn how space influences everything in our world all while finding your pathway to space.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Specialization and Course Overview

Chris Koehler welcomes you aboard the USS Pathway to Space and introduces you to the format, the four courses, the five goals, 146 learning objectives, the crew, and the ship.

WEEK 2

Space and Wonder

Chris and Dr. Valerio Ferme explore the inextricable connection with space and wonder to our journey to make sense of our existence and place in the cosmos.

WEEK 3

A Tour of the Cosmos

Chris and Dr. Erica Ellingson (CUB) take a tour of the Solar System and universe from the perspectives of size, scale and time. [CUB = University of Colorado Boulder]

WEEK 4

Astrophysics

Chris and Dr. Kevin France (CUB/LASP) perform a basic overview of astrophysics and the tools used, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, to understand the cosmos and our place in it. [CUB = University of Colorado Boulder] [LASP = Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics]

WEEK 5

Space Exploration: Going There

Chris, Dr. Paul Hayne (CUB/LASP), and Dr. Carolyn Crow (CUB) discuss discovering the cosmos through spacecraft missions that Go There, such as Apollo, New Horizons, and Juno. [CUB = University of Colorado Boulder] [LASP = Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics]

WEEK 6

Space Exploration: Viewing There

Chris and Dr. Kristy Tiampo (CUB) discuss the study of Earth’s environment and other objects in the cosmos through remote sensing from space. [CUB = University of Colorado Boulder]

WEEK 7

Extending Science Beyond Earth - Part 1

Chris and Dr. Nick Schneider (CUB/LASP) discuss how remote sensing techniques used to study the Earth, along with spectroscopy, are applied to our solar system and beyond. [CUB = University of Colorado Boulder] [LASP = Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics]

WEEK 8

Extending Science Beyond Earth - Part 2

Chris and Dr. Dave Brain (CUB/LASP) discuss understanding Earth’s climate and environment through the comparison and study of other planets in our solar system. [CUB = University of Colorado Boulder] [LASP = Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics]

WEEK 9

The Search for Life Elsewhere

Chris and Dr. Bruce Jakosky (LASP) perform a geological discussion of whether there could be life on other planets or moons in our solar system, or on any of the planets recently discovered orbiting other stars. [LASP = Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics]