Astronomy

This is an introductory astronomy survey class that covers our understanding of the physical universe and its major constituents, including planetary systems, stars, galaxies, black holes, quasars, larger structures, and the universe as a whole.

Magical thought has always attracted human imagination. In this course we will introduce you to the Middle Ages through a wide conception of magic. Students will have an approach to medieval culture, beliefs and practices from the perspective of History and History of Science. Popular magic, as well as [...]

This course is designed for anyone who is interested in learning more about modern astronomy. We will help you get up to date on the most recent astronomical discoveries while also providing support at an introductory level for those who have no background in science.

This course introduces you to subatomic physics, i.e. the physics of nuclei and particles. More specifically, the following questions are addressed: What are the concepts of particle physics and how are they implemented?; What are the properties of atomic nuclei and how can one use them?; How does one [...]

This course gives you access to basic tools and concepts to understand research articles and books on modern quantum optics. You will learn about quantization of light, formalism to describe quantum states of light without any classical analogue, and observables allowing one to demonstrate typical quantum properties of these [...]

We have learned a lot recently about how the Universe evolved in 13.7 billion years since the Big Bang. More than 80% of matter in the Universe is mysterious Dark Matter, which made stars and galaxies to form. The newly discovered Higgs-boson became frozen into the Universe a trillionth [...]

In this course we will seek to “understand Einstein,” especially focusing on the special theory of relativity that Albert Einstein, as a twenty-six year old patent clerk, introduced in his “miracle year” of 1905. Our goal will be to go behind the myth-making and beyond the popularized presentations [...]

Learn about the science behind the current exploration of the solar system in this free class. Use principles from physics, chemistry, biology, and geology to understand the latest from Mars, comprehend the outer solar system, ponder planets outside our solar system, and search for habitability in our neighborhood and [...]

Explore the many moons of our Solar System. Find out what makes them special and ask whether we send humans to our Moon again. Discover the amazing diversity of moons in our Solar System. There are lots of moons in our Solar System. The Earth is the only planet [...]

Learn about the Earth, life, and how we can search for life elsewhere in the universe. Are we alone in this universe? What new information and observations on exoplanets have we discovered? In the past decade, astronomers have made incredible advances in the discovery of planets outside our solar [...]