Introductory Class: Being a Tourist in the Solar System and the Galaxy - Livestream

You are invited on a spectacularly illustrated Tourist Tour of the Solar System and the Galaxy with astronomer Andrew Fraknoi.

* Tuesdays, 12:30 PM - 2:15 PM, Oct. 13 through Nov. 3 (Four Meeting Days)

* Offered through the SF State Osher Life-long Learning Institute (OLLI), but open to anyone over age 50. 

Have you recently had an irresistible desire to get off planet Earth and be somewhere else?  Then join the scientist who is often called the Bay Area’s public astronomer on a fun tour of the not-to-be-missed "tourist sights" among the planets and moons with which we share the Sun, and among the nearby stars, glowing clouds, and star clusters in our Milky Way Galaxy!

Sign up here.

When you register for the class, if you are not a current member of OLLI, you will be asked to sign up, but it’s a free process.

The class discussion will be accompanied with really dramatic color images from the latest space probes, many of them new. We'll learn about some of the most interesting vistas in deep space, including:

* the steam geysers on one of Saturn's moons,

* a cliff on a moon of Uranus’ which is the tallest lovers leap in the solar system

* nearby stars that have intriguing planets that may be habitable

* several glowing columns of cosmic material that are being converted into new stars and new planets right now

* the colorful death-shrouds that surround aging stars in our neighborhood. 

Designed like the Rick Steves travel shows on public TV, these tours are for the beginner, and will assume no background in science.  Discover how we humans fit into the bigger picture.

Instructor: Andrew Fraknoi retired Chair of the Astronomy Department at Foothill College