About this course: 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.
Created by: Caltech
Taught by: S. George Djorgovski, Professor
Astronomy
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Welcome
Welcome to The Evolving Universe!
1 video
- Video: Welcome
WEEK 2
Introduction and Some Basics
16 videos, 4 readings, 18 practice quizzes
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: The Oldest Science
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: The Oldest Science
- Video: Astronomy as a Science
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Astronomy as a Science
- Video: Messengers from the Universe
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Messengers from the Universe
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Distances and Scales
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Distances and Scales
- Video: Kepler's Laws, Newton's Laws, and Dynamics of the Solar System
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Celestial Coordinate Systems, Time Systems, and Earth Rotation
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Practice Quiz: Quiz 1
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Optical Telescopes (UV, Visible, IR)
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Geometric Optics, Angular Resolution
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Detectors (UV, Visible, and IR)
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Radio Telescopes
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Question
- Video: X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Non-Electromagnetic Observations
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Basics and Kirchoff's Laws
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: The Origin of Spectroscopic Lines
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Blackbody Radiation and Other Continuum Emission Mechanisms
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Fluxes and Magnitudes
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Practice Quiz: Quiz 2
WEEK 3
Stars and Planets
27 videos, 7 readings, 30 practice quizzes
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Interstellar Medium: General Properties
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Interstellar Dust: Extinction and Reddening
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Star Formation
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Formation of Planetary Systems
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Contents of the Solar System
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Formation of the Solar System
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Planetary Atmospheres
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Practice Quiz: Quiz 3
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Thermodynamics of Planets
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Searching for Exosolar Planets
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Studying Other Worlds
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Life in the Universe
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Stellar Structure Basics
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Energy Generation in Stars
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Energy Transport in Stars
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: The Sun Our Star
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Practice Quiz: Quiz 4
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: The HR Diagram
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Star Clusters: Probes of Stellar Evolution
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Star Clusters: Probes of Stellar Dynamics
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: The Main Sequence
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Stellar Evolution After the Main Sequence
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: White Dwarfs and Contact Binaries
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Supernova Types and Type 1A
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Core-Collapse Supernovae
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Practice Quiz: Midterm Exam
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Neutron Stars and Pulsars
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Stellar Black Holes
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Gamma-Ray Bursts
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
WEEK 4
The World of Galaxies
26 videos, 5 readings, 29 practice quizzes
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: The Basic Properties and Components of the Galaxy
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Galaxy Rotation and the Dark Halo
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: The Origin of Spiral Arms
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: The Local Group of Galaxies
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Practice Quiz: Quiz 5
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Galaxy Morphology and the Hubble Sequence
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Trends Along the Hubble Sequence and their Origins
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Galaxy Interactions and Mergers
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Quantifying Galaxy Properties
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Galaxy Scaling Relations
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Galaxy Evolution: The Basics
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Observations of Galaxy Evolution
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: The Cosmic Star Formation History
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Cosmic Web: The Intergalactic Medium
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: The Earliest Galaxies
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Reionization Era: The Cosmic Renaissance
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Practice Quiz: Quiz 6
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Large Structure
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Quantifying Large Scale Structure: Galaxy Correlations and Power Spectrum
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: The Large Scale Velocity Field
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Galaxy Bias and the Evolution of Clustering
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Structure Formation: The Growth of Density Perturbations
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Galaxy Clusters
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei: General Properties and Classification
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Unification Models
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: AGN Fueling, Jets and Synchrotron Radiation
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: The Cosmic High Energy Backgrounds
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: AGN Formation and Evolution
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Practice Quiz: Quiz 7
WEEK 5
Cosmology and the Deep Universe
17 videos, 4 readings, 19 practice quizzes
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: The Expanding Universe
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions
- Video: Cosmological Models
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions:
- Video: Distances in Cosmology
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Distances in Cosmology
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Basic Ideas and the Cosmic Microwave Background
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Basic Ideas and the Cosmic Microwave Background
- Video: The Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: The Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
- Video: The Cosmic Inflation
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: The Cosmic Inflation
- Video: The Very Early Universe
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: The Very Early Unives
- Practice Quiz: Quiz 8
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: The Scale of the Universe
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: The Scale of the Universe
- Video: Distance Indicator Relations
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Distance Indicator Relations
- Video: Estimating the Age of the Universe
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Estimating the Age of the Universe
- Video: Cosmological Tests: An Introduction
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Cosmological Tests: An Introduction
- Video: Supernova Standard Candles
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Supernova Standard Candles
- Video: Cosmology with the Cosmic Microwave Background
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Cosmology with the Cosmic Microwave Background
- Reading: Lesson Slides
- Video: Matter and Energy Contents of the Universe
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Matter and Energy Contents of the Universe
- Video: Gravitational Lensing: Mapping the Dark Matter
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: Gravitational Lensing: Mapping the Dark
- Video: The Dark Energy
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: The Dark Energy
- Video: The Cosmic Concordance
- Practice Quiz: Self-Test Questions: The Cosmic Concordance
- Practice Quiz: Final Exam
FAQs
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Coursework
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Creators
Caltech
Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering research and education institution, where extraordinary faculty and students seek answers to complex questions, discover new knowledge, lead innovation, and transform our future. Caltech's mission is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. We investigate the most challenging, fundamental problems in science and technology in a singularly collegial, interdisciplinary atmosphere, while educating outstanding students to become creative members of society.
Ratings and Reviews
Very interesting.
great course.
Exellent
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JH
Wonderful course! A brief introduction to cosmology but with plenty of material to cover. I recommend researching for papers additionally to the material, but you'll need more time than 4 weeks.