Free Astronomy Courses

A description of modern astronomy with emphasis on the structure and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the Universe.

This course covers the Milky Way galaxy, star formation and the interstellar medium, galaxies, black holes, quasars, dark matter, the expansion of the universe and its large-scale structure, and cosmology and the Big Bang.

Professor Courtenay Raia lectures on science and religion as historical phenomena that have evolved over time.

This course focuses on three particularly interesting areas of astronomy that are advancing very rapidly: Extra-Solar Planets, Black Holes, and Dark Energy.

This Stanford Continuing Studies course is the fifth of a six-quarter sequence of classes exploring the essential theoretical foundations of modern physics.

Using publicly available data from NASA of actual satellite observations of astronomical x-ray sources, we explore some of the mysteries of the cosmos, including neutron stars, black holes, quasars and supernovae.

What is science? Is the Moon made of green cheese? What is a star made of? How hot is the sun?

Planetary scientist and science communicator Carl Sagan gave this series of six lectures on the planets in 1977, predating his popular 1980 PBS series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by a few years. Using many visual aids, Sagan takes a look at the planets in our Solar System and their relation to the rest of the universe.

An exploration of life in the Universe. Topics include defining life; the origin, development, and fundamental characteristics of life on Earth...

This is an introductory level course about the history and philosophy of astronomy, the oldest science.