ASTR 1250

This was a pretty chill class. Homework is just a few multiple choice questions every week that took maybe 10-15 minutes. The homework questions were pulled right from the lectures and readings most of the time, so it is just about finding the right information. Readings were from articles and journals and they were pretty interesting but I rarely ever read them. We had weekly group meetings to do practice questions and attendance was mandatory, but honestly people mostly showed up and didn't do much else. I was usually working on something else in another tab. Exams weren't too bad overall. The questions were often very similar (or just copied) from homework and there was almost no math involved. The questions could also be pretty funny at times with weird allusions to fantasy novels and things of that nature. For a class called 'Alien Worlds' there was actually very little discussion of aliens. It was more about exoplanets and how we detect them than possible life on those planets. I found this class to be an easy A and it was pretty interesting so I'd recommend if you need an easy science credit or something. Good Luck :) #tCFspring2021

I am not an astronomy major/minor or anything and didn't find this class SUPER interesting, but Professor Arras is a good professor and there's really nothing wrong with the class. We had a short homework assignment and reading due every Friday at 5pm, along with 2 quizzes and a final (all open note). I would say if you put in some level of effort you will do well, but I sort of blew off the first quiz and regretted it. For the 2nd quiz and final, I collected my notes into a word doc and used command F and was completely fine, so I would recommend skimming through the study guides he provides before each assessment and make sure you have some notes about the topics covered. He also posts the PDFs which I would definitely recommend skimming before the assessments if you miss class.

This was a really interesting class about extrasolar planets and galactic/planetary formation. It is definitely geared toward non-science majors (I'm a politics major minoring in astronomy) and the math is very manageable.

I took this class in Spring 2020, so half of the class was in-person and then the second half of the class was virtual. While in-person, Professor Arras' lectures were definitely pretty interesting and he's a somewhat funny guy. There are points where the lectures can start to drag on, but it was never all that bad. Additionally, Professor Arras is just a really nice dude overall and is very approachable.

I definitely recommend this class for anyone who is looking to take an astronomy course! The subject matter is much more unique and specialized than 1210 and 1220 and Professor Arras is a pretty great professor!