Enigmas of the Universe

Chris Impey
Fall 2019
Thursdays |  
6 PM - 8 PM
November 7, 14, 21, December 5 and 12, 2019
Course Format: Hybrid
Location: Main Campus
Tuition: $130

Astronomy has seen tremendous progress in the past century. Large telescopes on the ground and in space now give us views of the universe across the electromagnetic spectrum. Powerful computers can handle exponentially increasing volumes of data, and they allow simulations of remote objects and extreme astrophysics. We know how stars work, how many galaxies there are, and how to find exoplanets. Yet there is much we don’t know and areas where our physical understanding is weak. This course is a report from the frontiers of astronomy and physics research on five aspects of the universe where profound questions remain unanswered. The topics are the big bang, black holes, the Higgs particle, life beyond Earth, and the end of the universe.

Registration Opens Online: Monday, August 12, 2019 at 8AM (AZ Time)

Required Reading

No textbook is required. All readings and class materials will be distributed to students electronically.

Meet Your Instructor

University Distinguished Professor

CHRIS IMPEY is a University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. He has more than 450 publications on education, observational cosmology, quasars, and galaxies, and his research has been funded by $20 million in NASA and NSF grants. He has received eleven teaching awards and has taught four online courses with over 420,000 students enrolled and 8 million minutes of video lectures viewed. Chris Impey is a former Vice President of the American Astronomical Society, and he has received its Career Education Prize. He has also been an NSF Distinguished Teaching Scholar, Carnegie Council’s Arizona Professor of the Year, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. He has authored over 120 popular articles on cosmology, astrobiology, and education, two textbooks, a novel titled Shadow World, and ten popular science trade books.

Location

POETRY CENTER
Dorothy Rubel Room
1508 E Helen
Tucson, AZ 85721
United States

Located on the SE corner of Helen Street and Vine Avenue, one block north of Speedway and three blocks west of Campbell Ave.

Street map image of Poetry Center

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