Free online astronomy courses

[Skade]

Hey, I don't know if you all know about this site before, but at Coursera.org they have a couple astronomy related courses! I've only taken Introduction to Astronomy (the latest session started a couple days ago; I think you can still join) and I love it- I still go on there to rewatch videos. There is also:

Galaxies and Cosmology (starts January 13, 2014)

Confronting the Big Questions: Highlights of Modern Astronomy (starts February 2014)

Imagining Other Earths (starts February 3, 2014)

AstroTech: the Science and Technology behind Astronomical Discovery (starts April 2014)

Analyzing the Universe (starts January 21, 2013)

Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life (starts January 20, 2014)

There are also courses on a bunch of other different subjects too and I might have missed a couple astronomy-related ones...

I think some of these courses are meant for people who know calculus though, but there's nothing wrong with joining anyway just to see what it's like- you don't actually have to complete the course; you won't be penalized. You can get a little certificate if you do finish one though. I don't really know what use the certificate would be though. Some of the courses let you come back to watch the videos after the course is done too, which is just awesome because sometimes I don't have time to dedicate myself to do it every week, so sometimes it's nice to be able to go back whenever you want.

I hope this helps some people! I also hope this hasn't been posted already...

[Skade]

I was actually just reading the Code of Conduct because after posting I thought maybe it might not be allowed to post links to other websites like this. It said no posting "Free___". Is this post still okay? Sorry, I don't mean to sound like I'm advertising for anything here. :X

[Crebles]

Hey Skade. Great post. I posted something similar the other day after I'd discovered Coursera. Amazing and free! I'm on week one of Intro to Astronomy and absolutely loving it.

ps/ I think posting useful web links like this is fine. I think they just try to avoid hard personal selling by members. Perhaps a Mod could clarify.

All the best.

[symesie04]

Hmmm i registered last year for a whole bunch of courses with them, they said they would mail mr with the start dates for each and here i am  over a year later without starting a single one.