Bethany Cobb - Six Questions for Modern Astronomy

Within the last 50 years, advances including digital imaging, 10-meter telescopes, space-based observatories, and supercomputers have revolutionized astronomy. To appreciate humankind's place in the Universe, this course will consider six questions: How do we study the Universe? Is there extraterrestrial life? Do black holes exist? What are the most energetic explosions in the Universe? How did the Universe form and evolve? What is the Universe's fate? Participants do not need a mathematical background to understand and be delighted by the concepts we will discuss. This course will also include an optional nighttime telescope observing session.

Bethany Cobb is a National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley. She received her Ph.D. at Yale University for research on massive stellar explosions called gamma-ray bursts. She is dedicated to public outreach in order to share her love of astronomy with others. She is also the astronomer for The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Wednesdays, January 28-March 4 (6 classes)
10:00 a.m.-noon
Location: University Hall, 2199 Addison Street, Room 41B

Category:

Science & Technology

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• Cobb