ASTRO 12 Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe

Units: 4
Hours: 54 hours LEC; 54 hours LAB
Grade Options: Letter Grade
General Education: Delta Area 2; CSU Area B1; IGETC Area 5A
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Beginning Algebra or appropriate placement as determined by the college’s multiple measures assessment process.
This course is a general introduction to the astronomy of stars, galaxies, and the Universe. The topics include the birth, the evolution, and the end stages of stars, the evolution and the current state of the Milky Way Galaxy, other galaxies, galaxy clusters, the structure of space and spacetime, elements of relativity theory, black holes, gravitational waves, the Big Bang, dark energy, dark matter, the fate of the Universe, and the possibility of life elsewhere in the Universe. The course discusses the importance of science and scientific methods, and shows how light and other electromagnetic waves carry almost all the information that we have about the Universe. Celestial navigation and astronomical observations using various types of telescopes are also discussed. Many of these topics are addressed hands-on in the laboratory part of the course. (HBCU, UC, CSU)