51³ÉÈËÁÔÆæ

Course Description

Summary

In the last twenty-five years, the study of life beyond our own planet has gone from science fiction to legitimate science. The course will initially focus on how stars form and evolve, starting from the formation of the universe, and continuing to a discussion of stars as both the synthesizers of heavy elements and the central energy source for solar systems. From there, we will discuss current planetary formation theories, planet detection techniques, and the explosive discovery of planets outside our solar system in the past ten years. Finally, we will examine the conditions under which we think life evolves and whether any of the glut of planets we’ve discovered in the last year may support life.