By Timon 3 months ago Completed

This has to be one of the best MOOCs I have taken so far. Professor Ronen is an amazing instructor and the way he and his team interact with students in the forums is mind-boggling.
They changed parts of the course on feedback while we were still taking it and responded not only to creative discussions on the discussion board, but also to problems one might have with the homework assignments.

By Brock Sides from Memphis, Tennessee 2 months ago Completed (Partially)

In spite of its title, this class seems like more than just an introduction. The material starts with the local solar system, and makes its way out in space to the furthest reaches of the known universe, and in time back to the first fraction of a second after the big bang.

The video lectures are first rate, and the instructor is enthusiastic about the material. But the homework is difficult and time-consuming. Unless you have a solid background in algebra and classical mechanics, you're not going to be able to do it. I gave up on doing the homework after four weeks because of the time commitment.

But there's no reason to feel guilty about just "auditing" a class. I thoroughly enjoyed just watching the lectures, and when we got to neutron stars, black holes, galaxies, and the expansion of the universe, every single lecture was mind-blowing!

By Franz Huber from Vienna 2 months ago Not Completed

Well, I did expect some Math and Physics but this was way too much. Astronomy is definitely an interesting topic and Ronen Plesser seems like a very good professor. However, I gave up after the thid week because I was finally too frustrated.
Especially the weekly problem sets were just boring and - in my opinion - only solvable with a lot of googling.
I expected something different from an introductory course.

By emediquei 3 months ago Completed

This course covers a lot of areas from Astronomy, from finding stars in the sky to the big bang. It also covers some physics, which may be a bit difficult.

The final week, which treated cosmology, was also very challenging, but I guess there is no way to explain this topic convincingly without using some math.

The teacher is very engaging and organized several Google Hangouts with the students.

By Anthony R 3 months ago Completed

A wonderful course. Did not have the maths to complete the exams, so I audited the course. Thoughtful lecturer and good content, ranging from the easy to appreciate to discussions that I had no real idea as to what was being presented, but hung through it with a good deal of interest.

The instructor was a game participant in live webcasting, which is always a nice feature of a MOOC course, even though he seemed to be in learn-as-we-go mode! No problem there. He handled it well.

A wonderful learning experience.

Background in the maths and physics that form the basis of astronomy definitely need to compete for a certificate of completion. However, can be taken just for the enjoyment of learning the material.

By Martinez from United States 5 months ago Taking Course Now

This is really interesting course. I am only in the first week of the class. The professor really enjoys what he does and it shows. The first week has about 3 hours of video lecture with lots of tools, maps, and video used. The hard part for my is the physics. I'm not a math wiz and I am hoping the graded quizes will not have alot of matmatical questions.
We have two quizes to take in the first week, so we'll see how it goes.

By andykp 34 days ago Completed

great instructor, relaxed lecture style, lots of content is covered so you need a decent background in general topics in physics
problem sets are challenging but luckily the forum were great help

By Marcelo Albuquerque from Aracaju, Sergipe 43 days ago Completed (Partially)

Best online course Ive taken so far. Lectures focus on concepts and are very didatic and fun!
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By daisykho from Bintulu, Sarawak 54 days ago Completed

What a course by the incomparable Dr. Ronen Plesser and his TA Justin. The materials were very hard taking from the word go, taking one through the physics required to understand basic Astronomy. The course required many hours for the homework which was designed to further one's understanding of the subject by working through them. This course had an outstanding discussion forum with many helpful contributors without whom it would have been much harder to complete. Very hard course but well worth the effort. Highly recommended.

By nml 55 days ago Completed

A really good course, but with one problem.

Lectures were excellent. They were fun to watch, clear, everything you need to pass this course was on them.

Exercises expected from you some knowledge about transforming algebraic equations, but objectively weren't that hard. However there was too many of them, but I would say about it later.

Exercises were test, but not a multiple choice. You had to enter correct solution. There was no exam, and only homework mattered in getting certificate. Thresholds were 70% and 90% for distinction.

The problem with this course was overload of lectures, and exercises. Especially during week 2, but other weeks also took some time to take. Original deadlines had to quickly be extended by 2 weeks. I think that course would be much better if there would be one or two additional weeks, or maybe even it would be splited in two parts.

Fortunately forum was very helpful, and organized and you could easily find help if you got stuck on some question.

Course was great, but if I were you I wouldn't take it unless you have some free time to do it.

By Diego Rodríguez from Madrid, Madrid 58 days ago Completed

This must be one of the best courses in coursera, and enthusiastic teacher Plesser one of the best teachers.

You will learn about planets, stars, galaxies, relativity, cosmology... An essential course if you're curious about the universe.

The problem is that this challenging course is hard to follow and it will take you more than 10 hours per week to complete the videos and quizzes.

By Doug from Kansas City, Missouri 2 months ago Completed

My favorite MOOC so far, but this is not a course for everyone. The course greatly exceeded my expectations for the quality and amount of material. The instructor and Ronen were very enthusiastic about the material - both but far more into this course than the average I've seen so far in online courses. Both were very active in forums and they did several Google hangouts.

To take this course, you should really want to an introduction to Astronomy and the physics behind it. You have to want to really want to learn the science - this is not just a descriptive course. You don't need more than high school science and algebra as a background. But, you have to be able to apply algebra and physics concepts to the problems. You don't just calculate numbers, you have to have the insight to choose the right formulas, etc.