Born in the interstellar gas clouds, stars enjoy a long maturity controlled by the mysteries of quantum mechanics before dying, sometimes quietly and sometimes with unbelievable violence. Through lectures, demonstrations and the extraordinary images flowing from the Hubble Space Telescope, this series builds a picture of each stage in the life cycle of a star. An evening of star viewing in the Blue Mountains is included. Course Content Week 1: Star Types: A Guided Tour Review of som... [More]

This course looks at what we have learned about the solar system in the era of space exploration. We look at what space missions from Pioneer and Voyager to Galileo and Cassini have taught us about the planets and their moons. We discuss the basics of space flight, including how interplanetary probes use gravitational slingshots to reach the high speeds needed to reach the outer planets. We discuss the prospects for journeys to Mars, and investigate what we know about planets around... [More]

Join some of our leading astronomers and physicists in this series of special lectures about ten “big ideas” in modern astronomy and physics. Exploring topics from subatomic physics to black holes and cosmology, and discussing some of the latest research, this course will bring you up-to-date on recent discoveries in our understanding of the universe. An evening of star viewing in the Blue Mountains is included. Details of the excursion to the Blue Mountains will be confirmed in cla... [More]

Stephen Hawking’s new book The Grand Design raises many important questions, not all of which are answered satisfactorily. Some examples: how does the universe come into being? Does it need a creator? Is “being” mysterious? What is “reality” (in the post-quantum mechanics world)? Can one theory explain all the forces and the “fundamental numbers”? Are we at a critical point in the history of science? Can we “choose” our universe? Is there a “grand design”? And, if there is, would we... [More]