AWESOME

perfect

wooooow

10/10

T

=

G

I really enjoyed this course. While it needed a sustained and focussed effort, I found it more and more interesting as I went along, at my own pace. I have a degree in Chemistry so had done some Physics in University, which helped. I might not recommend it to folks who didn't have some higher math, as that helped me immensely. Some of the equations I'd seen before (like Planck's and time dilation) and I'm comfortable with scientific notation. But that won't be true for everyone. Perhaps a little side unit to help people grapple with formula math and test their skills? A little cheat sheet they could revisit as they plowed into the more complex formulas?

I've always been intrigued by black holes and the course made me even more interested in: how we've observed them (gravitational radiation and pulsar timing arrays are way cool BTW) as well the different black holes in our galaxy and universe. The use of analogies was great (a lot of food involved) and helped with the more mind-bending concepts. In a way, your intellects bent my mind the way that black holes bend light! It was a fun journey and I appreciate all the thought and effort that clearly went into this course. Not to mention the cumulative knowledge of the team of presenters and the guest speakers. Impressive. Thanks very much.

I'll be looking to see if there are similar courses on astronomy. I've taken 3 courses from the U of A (Dinos, Bugs, and Black Holes) - all of the 101 type. Each and every one has been excellent. Thank you for making higher education generally accessible - it has been a mental lifesaver.

Very interesting course. Between the colourful backgrounds of the speakers, simple imagery and the food analogies, they made astronomical theories and evidence much easier to understand for those who do not come from a physics background. Perhaps minor issues here and there with sound and when the speaker was not looking directly at the screen it could be a little off-putting, but other than that, it was an amazing course. I come from a biological sciences background (specifically health sciences) and I found this quite easy to understand. Tests were also fair as they were based on theories and confirmed evidence rather than equations, and weren't too difficult if you paid attention to the videos. Even if you didn't 100% understand a concept, the images presented to you stick quite well in your mind to the point you are able to answer the test questions easier. Coming out of this, I now have a greater understanding of some of the greatest physics concepts from Newton, Einstein, and so on. I have also expanded my knowledge of astronomy and the universe, as I have been studying it since I was a little girl, but was unfortunately able to pursue it due to my strong dislike for physics (you know, boring plain Earth physics). This helped me to continue on my passion for astronomy while also avoiding those icky physics courses. Thanks to the UofA and their group of astronomers for putting this together for anyone needing their astronomy fix.

This was an excellent course. I knew nothing about physics, astronomy or Black Holes. The course kept me engaged. and I feel I have a much greater understanding. I took this course so I could understand some of the discussions that would happen as the James Webb Telescope starts to send info back to us. I have way more vocabulary than I did 4 weeks ago. Thank you to the University of Alberta for another fabulous course. I took this course in conjunction with Class Central and found that CC helped keep me focused and on task. It was wonderful when Dr Sharon joined us for a live session and one of the Astrophysicists from the Greenland Radio Telescope joined us. This was very exciting for me!!

I enjoyed this course a lot, so far i have finished 2 courses from alberta and have another on going. The quality of the content and enthusiasm of the lecturers makes a difference. I know it is not an ivy league or elite uni but they are definitely making great courseware on the mooc market. I hope there will be some follow up courses to this and the mountains course i took, whether more quantitative in approach or expanding the range i dont mind but now i have had my appetite whetted i want more! excellent work from the whole team, and many thanks!

It was very interesting. I had to print the whole course which can be found under resources. I prefer paper where i can stick notes.... It's a big "book" over 200 pages but it was worth it as i could follow the class and go back as i please. The cons are: Audio is weird and skip. When using the Schwarszchild radius or Planck equation for example, a reminder of the equation next to the name would be a plus as the more we see it, the better we memorize it. There was no feedback from the quizzes as they were done by a computer, i believe.

This has been a valuable addition to a series of studies I have been doing in understanding the subjects of Cosmology, Astrophysics, The Solar System.

I felt there was perhaps a bit of a shortfall in the Mathematical steps that were made by the key figures in the Physics and Astronomy world that gave rise to the theories and laws relating to the existence of , nature and properties of black holes, neutron stars, quasars et al

Thank you for the course

The instructors made the concepts very clear and understandable. I've just started year 13 and I ended up learning about Newton's Law of gravitation on this course at the same time as I was learning it in class so I would really recommend this course to GCSE or A-level students who want to deepen their enthusiasm for the subject. Also can't believe how much I didn't know about black holes until I completed this course.

This is a very good course and, at the time of writing (2022), very up-to-date. It does get a bit tedious to watch all those videos after a while, though. The course is pretty qualitative, which may be because general relativity requires a couple of years of mathematics at university level. Still, a variation with some readings, demonstrations/applets and/or minor calculations would help to shake things up a little.

A lot of fascinating information which shaped my perspective on stars, binaries, creation of heavy elements as well as, of course, the anatomy of black holes. In terms of instruction, I hesitate to critique with the UCP doing its best to kill of the U of A, but I muted Dr. Morsink and Dr Gladstone and read through their lectures because as speakers they tended to put me to sleep.

With professors who can shrink astronomical distances and explain concepts in time, space and cosmology with such lucidity and more importantly joy, this course was bound to be one ,which in literal sense, has transformed the black hole into a living vibrant entity. The team has rekindled the joy of learning in me and am sure in all students. Heartfelt thanks .

I took this course mainly as a refresher course for myself. I learned some new things that I enjoyed! I know this was a beginner course but I would have preferred the instructors showing how to calculate the few equations that they talked about at least. I feel a lot of information was spoken about briefly and not depthfully enough to fully grasp.

This course is pretty good. It helps in developing intrest about black holes. One drawback about this course is that If you want to understand all the mathematics including black holes and general relativity then this course is not for you. Otherwise this course is fantastic as they teaches using computer graphics and images.

Ross is the best trainer among the four of them (even without comparison). The 4 rating is for the knowledge in the course and of the trainers. Some points and some mathematics could have stressed more. For someone like me who is allergic to mathematics, those principles escape before being understood.

:-)

It's interesting but the lack of (elemental) formulas and graphics to illustrate some simple concepts make the course a little "boring". Too much (interesting) speeches. The professors make a great effort to transmit the subject. Good for them!.

This course gives a thorough analysis of Black holes which includes examining other phenomena such as the Big Bang, neutron stars, pulsars, space time and the effect of gravitation on light. A comprehensive look at the universe.

Great pace and great teachers! Would have loved more math-based problems to practice the formulas and calculations, but that's just me. A must-take course if you're starting out on your quest to understand the Universe.