A class on Aliens in Science and Science Fiction - Livestream

Few areas of astronomy provoke our imaginations as much as the search for “alien life” among the stars. It is a staple of science fiction stories and films, but recently it has also become a legitimate branch of scientific inquiry. In this non-technical class (designed for people without much science background), we first take a look at our modern view of the universe. We then discuss why astronomers are more optimistic than ever that there must be life beyond the Earth, what experiments we are undertaking to find or communicate with such life, and what we propose to do if we find “them.” We’ll also look at some of the most imaginative science-fiction ideas about what aliens will be like, and what the positive and negative results of getting in touch with aliens might be.

Note that this course runs for 6 weeks at the same time each week April 4 - 9.  We are only listing the first session.

The class costs $60 and you must also pay a $40 membership fee in the CSU East Bay OLLI program.  To register, click here.

Instructor: Andrew Fraknoi, San Francisco State University, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and Fromm Institute.