Visit Pluto At Foothill College; Sign Up For The New Year! (Adults Welcome)

News from Foothill College:

This past summer, after a 10-year voyage, a spacecraft visited the controversial planet Pluto and its giant moon Charon for the first time. Now we have wonderful images and surprising information about both these worlds, and you can learn about them, and the many other intriguing planets and moons with which we share our solar system, by taking Astronomy 10A at Foothill College starting in January.

The full title is “An Introduction to the Planets & Life Out There” (but it’s affectionately known as “Planets for Poets”). We welcome students from age 16 to 80 – the course requires no science background, only an interest in the wonders of space.

Share the adventures of the Curiosity Rover as it searches for evidence of flowing water on the planet Mars. Learn about the strange planets we have been discovering orbiting other stars. Get up to speed on the salt-water geysers erupting on one of Saturn’s moons (and take a peek at Saturn’s kinky rings). This is an exciting time for planet fans, and we invite you to spend 11 weeks being part of the excitement.

Astronomy 10A is an introductory course for non-science majors. Ideas and discoveries are introduced with analogies, examples from real life, the latest color images shown on a big screen, and touches of humor. The instructor, Andrew Fraknoi -- who was the 2007 Professor of the Year for the state of California --- specializes in explaining scientific ideas in everyday language.

The course is offered at Foothill College both during the day (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, from 12 noon to 1:25 p.m.) and in the evening (Tuesday and Thursday, from 6:00 to 8:20 p.m.) in room 5015 (with a terrific new audio-visual set-up). An optional hands-on lab class (Astronomy 10L) accompanies each course.

Winter Quarter at Foothill starts January 4 & 5, 2016. Registration fees are very reasonable. Adults who do not need a grade can make arrangements with the instructor once they have registered and attended.

To enroll, please go to the college website at: foothill.edu/admissions.php or go to the admissions center on campus. If you prefer to see the course in action first, just come to the first class on Tuesday, January 5 in room 5015.

For more information on the Foothill Astronomy Program or the instructor, see: foothill.edu/ast/

Upcoming Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures:

Feb. 3, 2016: Dr. Tori Hoehler (NASA): How We Propose to Search for Life on Other Worlds
Mar. 2, 2016: Dr. Jeff Moore (NASA): The Latest News from the New Horizons Exploration of Pluto