“Astronomy Without Tears” Class Starts September 26 and 27

From Foothill College:

LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA - For the last 25 years, the astronomy courses at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills have been taught by Andrew Fraknoi, who was the California Professor of the Year in 2007. Even if you have not taken his classes, you may know him from his appearances of local and national radio programs, explaining astronomical developments.

But Professor Fraknoi will be retiring from Foothill in June 2017 (at which he point he will have taught astronomy classes for 45 years at three colleges.) So if you want to take his good-humored introductory astronomy classes at Foothill, this coming school year will be your last chance.

There is a lot of news in astronomy: the discovery of gravity waves from pairs of black holes that can’t resist each other, more planets out there that resemble Earth (including, it appears, one around the nearest star), and the $100 million that a local billionaire has pledged to the search for alien signals, to name a few.

In Fall Quarter 2016, Foothill College is pleased to offer Astronomy 10B (often nicknamed “Astronomy without Tears”) – an introduction to the stars, the galaxies, and the “big bang” universe. There will also be a discussion of the exciting new planets being discovered around other stars. (Despite the B in its name, this is a FIRST class in astronomy, and does not require any math or science background.)

The class is offered during the day and the evening, and is taken by students from age 16 to 80. You do not need to be a full-time student to attend; members of the community are welcome to register. The course includes a free electronic copy of the non-technical textbook for which Professor Fraknoi is the lead author.

The evening Astronomy 10B is offered Tuesday and Thursday, from 6 to 8:20 pm. The day course is offered Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, at noon. An associated astronomy lab course is also available.

For more information about the Foothill College astronomy program and the instructor, see our website.

To register for classes at Foothill, start here.

Image via Pixabay.