The Science of Astronomy

Have you ever laid out at night and looked up at all the stars? What an awe-inspiring experience that is, right? Before we begin our course, I just want to take a moment to pause and reflect on those special places where we can go to connect with the night sky. I hope you have a spot that you can visit during this course… a place where you can just look up at the stars and wonder about it all. I’d like to take just a moment to show you my special place. Check out this teacher video: My Favorite Place.
My love of astronomy was solidified when I read the famous Carl Sagan book, Cosmos. Sagan has a poetic way of describing humanity’s intimate connection to the stars and the inevitability that we will one day become a spacefaring species. We will hear from Carl Sagan at various points throughout our course, but I want to give you a little taste in this video Wanderers
Astronomy is arguably the oldest branch of science. Archeological sites around the world show that ancient people paid close attention to the precise motion of the sun, moon, stars, and planets. And the development of modern astronomy during the Renaissance represents, in many ways, the development of science itself. Read 1.2 The Nature of Science to understand how science operates as a method of understanding nature through observations, experiments, models, and testing, emphasizing that science evolves with new discoveries and methodologies.
Explore 1.3 The Laws of Nature to grasp the concept that scientific laws are universal rules governing nature’s behavior across the universe, enabling astronomers to understand distant phenomena without local exploration.
Why should we even bother studying astronomy (or science in general)? Well, here’s how our old pal Carl Sagan answers that question: “We live in an age based on science and technology with formidable technological powers. Science and technology are propelling us forward at accelerating rates. If we don’t understand science, if we simply throw up our hands and say “Oh, I’m not good at that. I don’t know anything about it.” then who is making all the decisions about science and technology that are going to determine what kind of future we, and our children, live in? We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology in which virtually nobody understand anything about science and technology. This is a combustible mixture of ignorance and power that, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces.” This was from a 1996 interview. In case you weren’t alive back then, in 1996, NASA’s homepage looked like this, and a cellphone look like this. The ongoing development of technology has accelerated exponentially in the 30+ years since Sagan made his remarks.
For me personally, I love studying astronomy because it seeks to answer some of the biggest questions that humanity has ever asked: What are we? Where did we come from? and Are we alone in the universe? These questions fall at the boundary of science, philosophy, and religion, which I think is what makes them so fascinating. Watch my video Where Do I Come From?, which illustrates how asking these kinds of questions leads directly to the study of astronomy.
Disclaimer: If you are a religious person, I hope that you do not take any of this lesson (or any of this course) as an affront to your religious beliefs. I, myself, am a religious person and I find the study of astronomy to be both consistent with and illuminating of my faith.