ASTR315

Astronomy in Practice

Restriction: Must not be in Astronomy program. Additional information: Appropriate for non-science majors. Students learn astronomy research techniques and contribute significantly to the existing body of astronomical knowledge. Students apply methods and tools such as celestial coordinates, telescopes and CCD cameras, and appropriate analysis software to a specific observational goal. Students produce a work detailing their scientific result which will be submitted for publication in a professional venue. Each semester, the course focuses on a specific astronomical topic or type of object, such as asteroids, extrasolar planets, supernovae in other galaxies, quasars, etc.

Spring 2026

4 reviews
Average rating: 5.00

Spring 2025

4 reviews
Average rating: 5.00

Past Semesters

4 reviews
Average rating: 5.00

4 reviews
Average rating: 5.00

4 reviews
Average rating: 5.00

During the Spring 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, students could choose to take some of their courses pass-fail mid-semester which skews grade data aggregated across multiple semesters.

Average GPA of 3.56 between 459 students*

ASTR315 Grade Distribution+-051015202530354045505560657075% of studentsABCDFWother
A-: 18.52%
A: 51.42%
A+: 5.01%
B-: 1.74%
B: 8.28%
B+: 7.84%
C: 1.31%
C+: 0.87%
D-: 0.22%
D: 0.22%
D+: 0.22%
F: 0.65%
W: 3.27%
other: 0.44%
* "W"s are considered to be 0.0 quality points. "Other" grades are not factored into GPA calculation. Grade data not guaranteed to be correct.