Spring 2027

The Evolving Universe: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology

An introduction to the evolving universe covering the big bang, stellar lifecycles, black holes, galaxies, and modern cosmology including dark matter and energy.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Thomas Beatty4.1/5Elena Donghia3.6/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Thomas Beatty

Weekly homework and math exercises were present but not considered busy work; exams were not math-heavy, though some math was involved in section assignments.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Apply quantitative reasoning to evaluate scientific hypotheses to explain astronomical observations

  • Understand and apply--quantitatively--the scientific basis of astronomical concepts such as the Hubble law, the inverse square law, and Newtonian gravity.

  • Understand--qualitatively--and be able to explain to a lay audience the scientific basis for the laws of stellar structure and evolution

  • Critically evaluate qualitative scientific arguments using the scientific method

  • Write basic scientific prose for a variety of lay audiences

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Satisfied Quantitative Reasoning (QR) A. Not open to students with credit forASTRON 200.

ASTRON 103 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

Thomas Beatty

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.60/5 from 15 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.5/5 raw quality · 2.9/5 difficulty · 13 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Thomas Beatty

Thomas Beatty taught engaging lectures that included visits to the telescope and space room, though some students noted he read from slides. The course involved weekly homework and math exercises, with exams described as not math-heavy. Reviewers disagreed on difficulty, with one warning that the content focused heavily on physics rather than general astronomy.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 3.38 GPA, 67.9% A/AB (n=265 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.36 GPA, 60.1% A/AB (n=138 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.61/5 from 18 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2015: 2.64 GPA, 32.8% A/AB (n=183 letter grades); Spring 2020: 3.87 GPA, 94.9% A/AB (n=351 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.73 GPA, 88.0% A/AB (n=476 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Alex Lazarian, Christy Tremonti

Christy Tremonti read from slides, and students found the class memorization-heavy with delayed grading, though one review noted the instructor was helpful. Alex Lazarian was described as brilliant but difficult to understand, with tests covering less important topics than the homework, yet others found the lectures easy if they used the posted slides.

ALEX LAZARIAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2012, Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CHRISTINA TREMONTI is recorded teaching in Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2013, Fall 2022, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ELENA D'ONGHIA is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Spring 2015, Spring 2020, Fall 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOSHUA OPPOR is recorded teaching in Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MATTHEW BERSHADY is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2015, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

THOMAS BEATTY is recorded teaching in Fall 2022, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1500
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 306Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 307Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 309Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 310Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 311Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 312Classroom Instruction0 / 300
LEC 002Classroom Instruction0 / 1500

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Thomas Beatty

Students found the course engaging and exciting, with Professor Beatty making astronomy accessible through physical activities like visiting the telescope and space room.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.26 GPA, 59.2% A/AB (n=282 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.37 GPA, 66.2% A/AB (n=284 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.34 GPA, 64.1% A/AB (n=231 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Thomas Beatty

Weekly homework and math exercises were present but not considered busy work; exams were not math-heavy, though some math was involved in section assignments.

Past student reviews · Thomas Beatty

One student found the content frustrating because it focused heavily on physics rather than the fun planet facts described in the course overview.

Topics

  • Stellar lifecycles, supernovae, white dwarfs, pulsars, and black holes
  • The Milky Way, galaxies, distances, quasars, and the expansion of the universe
  • Modern big bang cosmology, dark matter, and dark energy

Skills

  • Apply quantitative reasoning to evaluate scientific hypotheses
  • Quantitatively apply concepts like Hubble law, inverse square law, and Newtonian gravity
  • Critically evaluate qualitative scientific arguments using the scientific method
  • Write basic scientific prose for lay audiences

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.33 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
ASTRON 103 · Spring 2027

The Evolving Universe: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:188:001538",
    "course_id": "ASTRON 103",
    "course_uid": "course_0ad8c1bf7a9e83ae4fb4e5a0",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "001538",
    "source_subject_id": "188",
    "title": "The Evolving Universe: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "c5e48c0dc09c419231338776d1ccb384e508572e9f29ab03004e0954bad5b214",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}