“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Ps 19:1) In this high school level astronomy course, we will study all the celestial objects of our solar system, as well as stars, galaxies, and space travel. We will learn about the physical laws that govern the celestial objects, and gain practical knowledge such as how to determine one’s location using the stars in the night sky. We will also study some historical background to understand the academic and investigative paths taken to gain our current understanding of the universe. Since astronomy is an observational science, there are multiple observational lab exercises integrated throughout the course. These lab exercises will be a combination of online computer simulations of experiments, in-class data analysis using observational data provided, and at-home experiments and observations conducted by the students using common objects and materials.
Note: Lab exercises reinforce the concepts covered in the class and provide a hands-on learning experience with the course content. However, this course does not have sufficient lab work to fulfill the requirements of a high school “lab science”. It is strongly recommended that the student complete both required high school lab sciences (Biology and Chemistry) prior to this course that does not fulfil a “lab science” requirement.