关于此课程： 在这个免费的课程里学习目前的太阳系探索背后的科学。用物理、化学、生物和地理的法则去理解关于火星的最新的新闻，理解外太阳系，思考太阳系外的行星，寻找附近环境以及更远区域的可居住性。这个课程普遍在本科级别的数学和物理知识上讲授，但是大多数的概念和课程并不需要这些知识就能理解。小测和期末考试会考察你是否能对学习过的材料进行批判性思考，而不是简单的记忆事实性的知识。这个课程应该有些难度，但会很有收获。
授课大纲
第 1 周
Unit 1: Water on Mars (week 1)
11 个视频, 1 个阅读材料
- Discussion Prompt: Welcome! Please introduce yourself.
- 视频: Lecture 1.01: Early views of Mars
- Discussion Prompt: What's in the sky right now?
- 视频: Lecture 1.02: Mars has canals!
- 视频: Lecture 1.03: Taking the temperature of Mars
- 视频: Lecture 1.04: Mars DOES have water (in the atmosphere)!
- Reading: Note on the next lecture
- 视频: Lecture 1.05: Heating and composition of the polar caps
- 视频: Lecture 1.06: Let's fly to Mars
- 视频: Lecture 1.07: The first missions to Mars
- 视频: Lecture 1.08: Water on earth
- 视频: Lecture 1.09: Mariner 9 -- Mars had FLOWING water!
- Discussion Prompt: Groundwater sapping or not?
- 视频: Lecture 1.10: Viking and the start of modern Martian science
已评分: Quiz 1
第 2 周
Unit 1: Water on Mars (week 2)
10 个视频
- 视频: Lecture 1.12: Outflow channels
- 视频: Lecture 1.13:Valley Networks
- 视频: Lecture 1.14: Climate cycles on Mars
- Discussion Prompt: Polar layered terrains?
- 视频: Lecture 1.15: Was early Mars warmer and wetter?
- 视频: Lecture 1.16: Atmospheric escape
- 视频: Lecture 1.17 Martian topography
- 视频: Lecture 1.18: Gamma ray spectroscopy and subsurface water
- 视频: Lecture 1.19: Glaciers on Mars!
- 视频: Lecture 1.20 Origin of low latitude ice
已评分: Quiz 2
第 3 周
Unit 1: Water on Mars (week 3)
10 个视频, 1 个阅读材料
- 视频: Lecture 1.22: Thermal spectroscopy and mineral identification
- 视频: Lecture 1.23: Geology from the Opportunity rover
- 视频: Lecture 1.24: Geochemistry from the Opportunity rover
- 视频: Lecture 1.25: Introduction to guest lecturers
- Reading: Note on the next lectures
- 视频: Lecture 1.26: Mineralogy on Mars, Part 1
- 视频: Lecture 1.27: Mineralogy on Mars, Part 2
- 视频: Lecture 1.28: Results from the Curiosity Rover, Part 1
- 视频: lecture 1.29: Results from the Curiosity Rover, Part 2
- 视频: Lecture 1.30: Where was the water on Mars?
- Discussion Prompt: Where was the water on Mars?
已评分: Quiz 3
第 4 周
Unit 2: The insides of giant planets (week 1)
11 个视频, 1 个阅读材料
- Reading: Note on the next section
- 视频: Lecture 2.02: Measuring density
- Discussion Prompt: Transit of Venus!
- 视频: Lecture 2.03: Using density
- 视频: Lecture 2.04: Hydrostatic equilibrium
- 视频: Lecture 2.05: Hydrogen equation of state
- 视频: Lecture 2.06: Heat transport
- 视频: Lecture 2.07: Theoretical internal structure
- 视频: Lecture 2.08: A core from gravity?
- 视频: Lecture 2.09: Magnetic fields
- 视频: Lecture 2.10: The upper atmosphere and the Galileo probe
- 视频: Lecture 2.11: Picture models
已评分: Quiz 4
第 5 周
Unit 2: The insides of giant planets (week 2)
10 个视频
- 视频: Lecture 2.13: Core formation
- 视频: Lecture 2.14: Core-collapse vs. Disk instability
- Discussion Prompt: Core collapse vs. disk instability?
- 视频: Lecture 2.15: Saturn and the ice giants
- 视频: Lecture 2.16: Discovering hot Jupiters
- 视频: Lecture 2.17: Densities of hot Jupiters
- 视频: Lecture 2.18: Inflating hot Jupiters
- 视频: Lecture 2.19: Kepler and the sub-Neptunes
- 视频: Lecture 2.20: Exoplanet spectroscopy
- 视频: Lecture 2.21: Juno and future exploration
- Discussion Prompt: Juno results?
已评分: Quiz 5
第 6 周
Unit 3: Big questions from small bodies (week 1)
12 个视频
- 视频: Lecture 3.02: The formation of small bodies
- 视频: Lecture 3.03: The formation of terrestrial planets
- 视频: Lecture 3.04: The surface density of the solar system
- 视频: Lecture 3.05: An ode to comets
- 视频: Lecture 3.06: The composition of comets
- 视频: Lecture 3.07: Where do comets come from?
- 视频: Lecture 3.08: The formation of the Oort cloud
- 视频: Lecture 3.09: Meteorites and the beginning of the solar system
- Discussion Prompt: Lead-lead dating
- 视频: Lecture 3.10: Types of meteorites: Chondrites
- 视频: Lecture 3.11: Types of meteorites: Achondrites
- 视频: Lecture 3.12: Asteroids and meteorite delivery
已评分: Quiz 6
第 7 周
Unit 3: Big questions from small bodies (week 2)
9 个视频
- 视频: Lecture 3.14 : Pictures of asteroids
- 视频: Lecture 3.15: Asteroid hazards
- 视频: Lecture 3.16: The Kuiper belt
- 视频: Lecture 3.17: Properties of dwarf planets
- 视频: Lecture 3.18: Dynamical instabilities
- Discussion Prompt: Lucy!
- 视频: Lecture 3.19:The Grand Tack
- 视频: Lecture 3.20: Planet Nine
- 视频: Lecture 3.21: A trip to the Subaru telescope
已评分: Quiz 7
第 8 周
Unit 4: Life in the solar system (week 1)
10 个视频
- Discussion Prompt: Life as we do (or don't) know it
- 视频: Lecture 4.02: Photosynthesis
- 视频: Lecture 4.03: Water
- 视频: Lecture 4.04: Alternative energy sources
- 视频: Lecture 4.05: History of life on Earth
- 视频: Lecture 4.06: Mars -- The Viking experiement
- 视频: Lecture 4.07: Mars -- Microbial hitchhikers
- 视频: Lecture 4.08: Mars -- Methane?
- 视频: Lecture 4.09: Mars -- Methane!!
- 视频: Lecture 4.10: Mars -- a habitable environment
已评分: Quiz 8
第 9 周
Unit 4: Life in the solar system and beyond (week 2)
11 个视频
- 视频: Lecture 4.12: Energy on Europa
- 视频: Lecture 4.13: Exploring Europa
- Discussion Prompt: Europa Clipper!
- 视频: Lecture 4.14: Enceladus
- 视频: Lecture 4.15: Introduction to Titan
- 视频: Lecture 4.16: Weird life on Titan
- 视频: Lecture 4.17: Habitable zones
- 视频: Lecture 4.18: Detecting exo-life
- 视频: Lecture 4.19: Looking around M-dwarfs
- Discussion Prompt: Planets!
- 视频: Lecture 4.20: A mission to find life in the solar system
- 视频: Lecture 4.21: All good things must come to an end
已评分: Quiz 9
第 10 周
Final exam
4 个视频, 1 个阅读材料
- Reading: Bonus material
- 视频: Bonus: What we used to think about Sedna (before we knew about Planet Nine!)
- 视频: Bonus: Seasons on Titan
- 视频: Bonus: Why Pluto had to die
已评分: Final exam
常见问题解答
运作方式
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制作方
Caltech
Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering research and education institution, where extraordinary faculty and students seek answers to complex questions, discover new knowledge, lead innovation, and transform our future. Caltech's mission is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. We investigate the most challenging, fundamental problems in science and technology in a singularly collegial, interdisciplinary atmosphere, while educating outstanding students to become creative members of society.
评分和审阅
Excellent course and instruction. I would highly recommend this challenging course to anyone wanting a solid science update on our solar system.
Fantastic course from start to finish. Very insightful, engaging and thorough. The material was excellent and of the right level of difficulty. Would highly recommend.
Awesome course! A lot of information, I have been taught Master courses which teach you much less than this one. There are a few cons though. No Mercury, nor Venus units (they are barely mentioned through the entire course). And it would be nice to have access to the oficial notes, if there are, so we can take a look before watching the lectures ( I understand that this could be too much for an online course).
I have taken and taught many online courses using various platforms. This is by far the best courses I have taken. It is well organized and the content cover is beyond my expectations. Excellent course!