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As­tro­nom­i­cal his­tory is pre­sented in­clud­ing an in­tro­duc­tion to the me­chan­ics and op­tics of Galileo and New­ton. Ra­di­a­tion laws and as­tro­nom­i­cal tools in­clud­ing the tele­scope are con­sid­ered. The solar sys­tem is pre­sented in de­tail as is a his­tory of human space travel. Stel­lar as­tro­physics is con­sid­ered in­clud­ing star for­ma­tion, plan­e­tary sys­tems for­ma­tion; and star prop­er­ties, group­ings and evo­lu­tion. Galaxy prop­er­ties and evo­lu­tion are dis­cussed. Fol­low­ing an in­tro­duc­tion to rel­a­tiv­ity, as­pects of quan­tum me­chan­ics and cos­mol­ogy are in­tro­duced. The search for and con­se­quences of ex­trater­res­trial life are con­sid­ered. Lab­o­ra­tory ex­per­i­ments sup­ple­ment and il­lus­trate lec­ture ma­te­r­ial.

Astronomical history is presented including an introduction to the mechanics and optics of Galileo and Newton. Radiation laws and astronomical tools including the telescope are considered. The solar system is presented in detail as is a history of human space travel. Stellar astrophysics is considered including star formation, planetary systems formation; and star properties, groupings and evolution. Galaxy properties and evolution are discussed. Following an introduction to relativity, aspects of quantum mechanics and cosmology are introduced. The search for and consequences of extraterrestrial life are considered. Laboratory experiments supplement and illustrate lecture material.