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This course is primarily designed for students who need a science context credit. At the same time, the course is highly recommended as an elective for science students, in particular those who plan to become teachers, because of its strong emphasis on the scientific method and how we came to know what we currently know.

Note: ASTR 1P01 is highly recommended but is not required as a prerequisite for enrolling in ASTR 1P02.

For current and future teachers, note that the Ontario Grade 9 science curriculum includes a unit entitled "The Study of the Universe" (as part of the Earth and Space Science strand), and there is an entire course in Grade 12 science entitled "Earth and Space Science" (SES4U), two of the units of which are entitled "Astronomy (Science of the Universe)" and "Planetary Science (Science of the Solar System)."

The study of astronomy has inspired humans to revolutionize the way we understand the universe and our place in it, and has led to the development of modern science. Knowing something about this beautiful chapter in the story of intellectual history is an important goal of this course.

The online section of this course is very similar to the in-person section, and includes video clips of lectures by Professor B. Mitrović and also his pdf lecture notes. The course content is the same in both sections, the textbook is the same, and we do our best to prepare tests and exams that are at the same difficulty level. In the online section you have access to Dr. Mitrović's pdf lecture notes and video lecture clips. so we've done everything we can to make the learning resources as similar as possible in both sections.

As in ASTR 1P01, the main focus of this course is to understand something about our beautiful universe, and to understand how we came to know these things.

The textbook is Astronomy by Fraknoi, Morrison, and Wolff, 2018, and is available for free download (you can also read it online if you wish) at the OpenStax web site: https://openstax.org/details/books/astronomy.

Professor Mitrović's lecture video clips, and lecture slides, links to which are found on the topic pages of this web site, are considered essential viewing/reading for participants of this course, in lieu of attending his lectures. There are many other links to good information on this site, which provide alternative explanations, and in some cases additional information, for those who are interested in other perspectives, or in digging deeper. It is not necessary to read any of the "additional sources of information" in order to succeed in the course, but it is provided for those who are interested.

The textbook is also considered essential reading for the course. The textbook is listed as "Required," and so we expect each student to obtain the textbook and read the relevant sections. Questions on tests and the final exam are chosen from any of the essential sources of information: the textbook and Dr. Mitrović's lecture videos and lecture notes.