The history of astrophysics and cosmology will be illustrated using a combination of PowerPoint images, online readings, and discussion. A recommended book is Lillian Lieber’s “The Education of T. C. Mits.”

Among the topics to be discussed in this study group for those 50 and over are the development of instruments and technology for cosmology, the division between theory in Europe and observation in the U.S., serendipitous discovery, Einstein and the battles over relativity, the discovery of the “big bang” and the expanding universe, the influence of emigration, war, and big science on “pure” science, cosmological controversies, personalities and research agendas, women cosmologists and the discoveries of dark matter and dark energy.

Instructor Rudi Linder has taught courses on the history of astrophysics and cosmology for nearly forty years at the UM and will lead these two hour sessions on Tuesdays beginning on January 23 and running through March 13.