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Learner Reviews & Feedback for AstroTech: The Science and Technology behind Astronomical Discovery by The University of Edinburgh

4.7
stars
1,102 ratings

About the Course

"How do they know that?" Modern astronomy has made some astonishing discoveries - how stars burn and how black holes form; galaxies from the edge of the universe and killer rocks right next door; where the elements come from and how the expanding universe is accelerating. But how do we know all that? The truth is that astronomy would be impossible without technology, and every advance in astronomy is really an advance in technology. But the technology by itself is not enough. We have to apply it critically with a knowledge of physics to unlock the secrets of the Universe. Each week we will cover a different aspect of Astronomical technology, matching each piece of technology to a highlight science result. We will explain how the technology works, how it has allowed us to collect astronomical data, and, with some basic physics, how we interpret the data to make scientific discoveries. The class will consist of video lectures, weekly quizzes, and discussion forums. Each week there will be five videos, totalling approximately 40 minutes. They will be in a regular pattern - a short introduction, an example science story, an explanation of the key technology area, a look at how the technology is used in practice, and finally a look at what the future may hold....

Top reviews

EM

Jun 7, 2020

After completing the course, I was able to understand better some concepts in astronomy such as dark matter and dark energy as well as the technologies that helped uncover more truths in our universe.

BJ

Sep 22, 2020

The course was amazing especially when the instructor was explaining by using experiment instruments above all the way the instructors has taught me has completely made me understand the concepts.

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26 - 50 of 308 Reviews for AstroTech: The Science and Technology behind Astronomical Discovery

By Priya J

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Jan 6, 2017

Fantastic course for a beginner like me with no prior knowledge about Astronomy. Gives you loads of information about different elements of the universe with good details around how technology integrates with all the different elements to help us understand the overall picture better and be able to predict and past and future of our ever expanding universe. I am very glad I took this course.

By antonio b

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Aug 4, 2019

Very good teaching style. Good integration of video snippet, resources, exercise. Quiz are medium difficulty, but good. Of course this course scratch the huge topic of modern astronomy: I am pretty sure that 3 to 4 courses like this might give a more that satisfactory overview of the current astronomy challenges. I will be more that willing to pay for getting an official grade on the topic.

By Felipe C

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Apr 26, 2018

Congratulations to the instructors for putting together such a dynamic and informative course. Catherine and Andy are well prepared for the lessons and talk in a very clear manner - including examples and demonstrations whenever possible. I feel like now I know the answer to most of the stuff I used to ask when learning about astronomical discoveries; i.e. "how do they know that?"

By RICHABEN M

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May 30, 2020

I learn number of thing from this course. I got knowledge about astronomy and astrophysics. It also have explained abou detector and telescope. In this course I learn about dark matter and dark energy which is amazing concept about universe. And also It is mystery to explaine about full concept. Thank you thank you so much for this stage. I really love this course and coursera.

By aditya y

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May 25, 2022

Amazing course! Definitely good for beginners. However, the course expects you to know the fundamentals of Physics, such as basic kinematics, forces, a little bit about energy and light, simple equations (solving and rewriting in Mathematical notation), etc. Anyone who has taken Highschool Physics should be able to understand the course without much difficulty.

By Rashmi R K

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Apr 5, 2020

This course was amazing. It gave a beautiful insight into the technology behind Astronomical studies. This course is very helpful for beginner astronomy students. I am extremely thankful to the instructors who came up with beautiful discussions. I really learned a lot of amazing things in a fun way. I enjoyed this course very much. Thank you.

By OMKAR S

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Apr 23, 2020

It's an best starting knowledge package for those who are seen the beautiful Dream for working in the field of astronomy. As this course includes very basic and essential things to perform Astronomical Discovery hunt. Thanks Coursera and the mentors Mr. Andy Lawrence and Ms. Catherine Heymans in this course for plotting the same...

By Azam N

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May 5, 2020

I am very happy to take this course. This course is great for anyone interested in astronomy, especially newcomers to know the technological advances used. I will always review this course to increase my knowledge. Thanks to all the speakers who are willing to teach this course online. Thanks again. With my warmest regards.

By Tina A

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Nov 24, 2019

If you wanna learn about science and technology for discovery astromical, this course its for you. On this six week's you will learn about science, telescopes, stars, black holes, galaxies, how we can see the most beautifulls images from the galaxies, dark energy and matter.

Join the course! Knowledge is never too much!

By Michael M

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Feb 14, 2021

This course clearly and succinctly explains the relationship between technology and its impact on our expanding knowledge of astronomy. As an amateur astronomer who spends a lot of time imaging various objects in the night sky, this course gave me a much better understanding of the equipment and processes that I use.

By Deep B

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Jun 15, 2020

I recommend this course to all the budding astronomers who want to gain more knowledge in this field. The course is slow placed, which gives you plenty of time to do extra research on particular topics and the quizzes are just perfect, as it covers all the knowledge you gained in that weekly session.

By David G

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Jan 2, 2022

Professors Andy Lawrence and Catherine Heymans make it a joy to learn more about the science and technology of astronomy, especially in this current era of the James Webb Space Telescope. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in astronomy. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.

By Burhani T S

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Jun 29, 2020

The course is very informative, detailed and the presenters are funny too.

Though a physics graduate student would know basically 90% of the course, there are some misconceptions which can be cleared by this course. Being taught by experts in their fields is always fun and exciting. Thank you!

By isaac m

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Mar 2, 2022

I found the course really ingaging and enjoyable. Its a great basic guide with lots of jumping of points, deeper into each topic. The videos where fun and informative, the quizes could be a bit padantic at times but overall tested you well. I particualy enjoyed the maths questions.

By Gustavo D A S

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Oct 24, 2020

Excellent instructors, videos, teaching strategy.

I was looking for a course with this material for a long time and this one is my favorite between all of them. Congratulations to the University of Edinburgh, this course producers, instructors and all the team who made this course.

By Shawn B

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Feb 6, 2024

I really enjoyed the expertise and insight on various topics that helped fill in the blanks for my other astronomy course, especially on how CCD's work to capture light. I would recommend people know a bit of physics for the math problems involving movement of celestial objects.

By VIGNESH.P

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Apr 8, 2020

Loved this course a lot. Very interesting course and excellent teaching giving an overall idea and perspective of an astronomers real hardwork. Gained some knowledge of the technology behind astronomy and also the difficulties faced by astronomers. Looking forward to learn more.

By Ashish p

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May 13, 2020

course content was great. You have covered most of the topics I was expecting. But I was also expecting some more detailed learning of each of the topic. I would like if you make one more course which much more detailed study and some mathematics. Thanks for making this course

By Emille G

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Mar 5, 2018

Outstanding! I've gained a greater appreciation for physics and a far greater understanding of the role that it plays in observation and the technology developed. I feel confident to pursue further studies along these lines. Thank you for creating this wonderful course!

By Dr R P

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Mar 13, 2022

This is one of the most amazing courses that I have taken.Even though wasnt able to attaend it due to exams and such for some time, I got back at it without much effort, I could still understand what I was taught and could try and apply what I learned.Highly recommend.

By Deleted A

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Oct 11, 2020

Just Awesome, The Additional Materials provided was excellent because for the freshers they get to know the best websites to view the information regarding Science.

You can pretty sure gain knowledge about the latest technology behind the Astronomical Discoveries.

By Antonio L A

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Oct 11, 2021

Excellent course . Guives the basis of astronomical technology, covering the main subjects, and teached by two very good professors. At the level guiven, are not missed none word, and so, none in excess. The quids are o well graduated in difficulty. Thanks

By Fathima t

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Aug 31, 2020

It was an amazing 6 week through wonders. The class was well organized .It's tending me to discover more and more ,after all I'm doing my graduation in physics . hope to work in astrophysics in future. a great thanks to Coursera and University of Edinburgh...

By Violeta G

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Jul 25, 2021

I have really enjoyed the content and the way the lecturers explained and laid out the material. Workload was more than doable when having other commitments. There are great links to resources after each week's lectures to follow up. Definitely recomend it!

By Jorge S

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Oct 27, 2019

My congratulations for the course. It has taken me much longer than I thought, but I always enjoyed it. The selected topics were excellent and the test questions were adequate. I will be waiting for a second part of the course.

Greetings from Lima, Peru.