Since the advent of human life, we have looked to those luminescent points in the night sky with wonder and curiosity. How do we know the distances to various stars and planets? What is dark matter? Why do we need it? Is a black hole a hole? Do pulsars pulse? Venus is hotter than mercury, Sirius is hotter than our Sun – but wait, how do we know that? Explore these questions and much more with our BLI teaching team, which includes physics scholars from Harvard and Princeton!
As we traverse the cosmos, it is imperative to understand the laws of physics that allow astronomers and space scientists to grasp the behavior of celestial bodies. This course offers an exciting look into the fundamental physics of the universe and is ideal for teens interested in physics and astronomy.
Students will learn about and explore SETI signals, using data streaming online to search for radio signals in space that may originate from extraterrestrial intelligence. They will use data streaming in from Pluto from the Bright Horizons project. Cassini, a satellite orbiting Venus, streams data that students can analyze on their own computers. Students will learn about stellar nurseries that create new galaxies. They will explore how wobbling in the light streaming in from distant stars may indicate the existence of orbiting planets. This data will be explored against a backdrop of lectures on astrophysics and a field trip to a local observatory.
June 30 - July 28, 2025 | Gann/Bentley, Waltham, MA
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