How Shall We Learn if We are Alone in the Universe?
ASTRON 10
Subject & Catalog Number
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Course Information
Description
Do there exist inhabited worlds other than our own? This question has inspired thinking and observation for centuries, but there are reasons to think we may soon have the tools and understanding to reach an answer. This course will begin with a study of the 14 billion year path from the Big Bang to the origin of the chemical elements and the formation of planets. We will then turn to asking what makes some worlds habitable, and others not. Finally, we will discuss different approaches to studying nearby planets and deducing whether they host life. The course will be taught in seminar format and requires no advanced knowledge of mathematics or physics.
School
Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Credits
4
Cross Reg
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
Department
Astronomy
Course Component
Lecture
General Education
N/A
Quantitative Reasoning with Data
N/A
Divisional Distribution
Science & Engineering & Applied Science
Course Level
Primarily for Undergraduate Students
