Embark on a cosmic adventure with Jerry Krassner as we explore the wonders of the universe! In this lively course, we'll unravel the mysteries of what the universe is made of, how it all began, and the fascinating theories—old and new—that try to make sense of it all. From ancient Hebrew and Greek insights to dazzling ideas from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, right up to today's cutting-edge discoveries, you'll see how our picture of the cosmos has changed through the ages. We'll touch on mind-bending concepts like relativity and quantum theory.

Have you ever looked up on a clear night and wonder—what exactly is a star? Why do stars shimmer in so many dazzling colors? Join Jerry Krassner and journey through the life story of stars: from their birth inside giant clouds of cosmic gas, through their glowing prime, to their spectacular or peaceful endings depending on their size. You’ll discover why stars twinkle, how they form star clusters, and what causes their colorful variety. Whether stars end their lives in brilliant supernova fireworks or quietly fade into white dwarfs, we’ll unravel these stellar secrets in an easy-to-follow way!

Get ready for a journey across space and time as we uncover humanity’s quest to measure the universe! This engaging course takes you on a whirlwind tour of how people figured out the distances to planets, stars, and galaxies. You’ll discover how ancient Greeks used geometry and lunar eclipses, how Renaissance astronomers harnessed the telescope and planetary parallax, and how 20th-century scientists relied on pulsating stars and exploding supernovae to map the vast cosmos. Along the way, you’ll see how each leap in measurement not only shrank or expanded our sense of the universe, but also rewrote our ideas about its past and its astonishing future.