Andrew Vanderburg (Department of Astronomy)
First-Year Seminar 66Q | Fall Term | Thursday, 3:00-5:00 PM
Enrollment limited to 15 | CANVAS SITE
For millennia, humans (perhaps including yourself) have looked up at the stars and wondered if any of them have planets like Earth, and if so, whether those planets might host life. Now, we know that planets are common outside the solar system, and for the first time in human history, we have the technological capability to search for life beyond Earth. But where should we look first? What kind of measurements should we make? And if we do find life, would we even recognize it?
In this seminar, which requires only high school level knowledge of math and science, you will immerse yourself in the search for life beyond Earth. You will learn to use telescopes to observe the cosmos, dive into data from a NASA space telescope to spot planets outside the solar system, and learn to navigate and extract information from primary source documents. Over the course of the semester, you will gain an intuitive understanding of the techniques that could reveal its presence, and grapple with strategic questions about how to maximize the chance we can answer one of humanity’s oldest questions: Are we alone?