The Outer Space

Ever wondered if there is life outside the earth? Do aliens or extra-terrestrial beings really exist? How do stars look like at close distance? What would it be like to live in Mars and stroll on the moon?

Why not study astronomy to answer these questions? I'm sure most of you out there have dreamed of becoming an astronauts or astronomer one day. Having been raised in the generation of "Star Wars," and "Startrek," many people of my age, and yours as well, have sure wondered at least once in their lives on the ways of exploring the universe. The dream of conquering the vast, unknown realm started with simple star gazing and wildlife night camping -- wishing on each falling star our eyes would catch. The wonders of the world -- at least, outside our world -- are great sources of much fascination and dreaming.

Come primary and secondary school, we were all the more exposed to the mystery of the universe. We treated our Science subjects with much interest and liking mostly because of discussions on the solar system and what lies beyond it. Slowly, we were introduced to the magical world of astronomy.

Astronomy mainly deals with planets, stars, comets, systems, and galaxies. It is also the study of phenomena happening outside the Earth's atmosphere, outside of the world we know. It is also regarded by others as an attempt to fully discover and fathom the formation, definitive evolution, and development of the universe. This science is one of the oldest known disciplines to have called as science. The ancient Greeks were the first one who dared study and discover the realm outside our world. They devised and practiced their own scientific methodology and observation techniques to unravel the entities beyond the sky we see here on earth. Through time, ambitious and daredevil amateur astronomers have greatly contributed to the many important astronomical discoveries that, in turn, have served as foundations of what astronomy is nowadays.

In its childhood years, astronomy was limited only to observing and predicting the activities of the outside world through the naked eyes. Aristotle's cosmic explanation was the first to somehow shed the light on the mysteries of the universe. His proposition that the earth is the center of the universe and all others are moving around it was the first to be accepted as true and valid. For hundreds of years, millions have subscribed to this theory and most of the further studies undertaken were hinged on it. It was not until the *Renaissance period* that a more sound explanation became available. Nicolaus Copernicus came up with the heliocentric model of the solar system. His proposition argued that the sun, and not the earth as claimed by Aristotle, is the center of the universe. Albeit his proposition generated much opposition, he was staunchly defended by Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler. Galileo even added the innovation of using telescopes to enhance his observations. Kepler, on the other hand, was the first to devise a system, which described correctly the details of the motion of the planets with the Sun at the center.

These are just some of the basic knowledge we learned about astronomy. For some circumstances beyond control, our quest to further study the universe took a halt when we entered college and focused on our respective fields of interests. But it is never too late to rekindle an old passion. Once an astronomy enthusiast, always an astronomy enthusiast. I, for one, had some sort of reunion with my childhood fascination about the world outside our world. I was actually surprised to find out for myself that there are many ideas and concepts on astronomy that I still don't understand that well. Without second thought, I browsed through the internet and did some self-studying. I even came across to an online college course on astronomy.

Free-ed.net, for one, offers a free online course on astronomy. The Fundamentals of Astronomy course is actually very scholarly. It is pretty much like a high school level-2 course on astronomy. The course outline starts with the customary topics on history of astronomy, sky patterns, basic knowledge on gravity and motion, light, and telescope. It then proceeds to the bigger elements like the earth, the moon, solar system, and Milkyway galaxy. The other parts are about the stars, the sun, structures of the universe, and cosmology. The course is not for those who wants to be an astronomer. It is more of an appreciation course for beginners and interested individuals like myself. It comes free of charges.

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