Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
One of the best classes I've taken. Prof. Beatty and Evan Linck, the TA, make astronomy very engaging and exciting. There are physical aspects as well, such as visiting the telescope and the space room, that make the class so much better. Prof. Beatty is very accommodating of students' success and cares about them. The class made me love astronomy.Rate My Professors ↗
Great professor, makes the class interesting. I enjoyed being his student!Rate My Professors ↗
A super friendly and nice guy to take a class with! I loved his teaching style and the professor put in the lot of effort to make everyone feel welcomed. The way he teaches his content makes it very easy to understand. Homeworks were difficult but prepared you for the exam.Rate My Professors ↗
You can really see that proffesor actually enjoys teaching and is actually interested in his own subject. Classes are not boring and is doable even by just reading the slides he makes.Rate My Professors ↗
Prof is really nice and lectures are cool (although he just reads the slides), but this is not a good class if you aren't good at math or physics. It's not an easy science credit, although you can do okay with some work. Prof and TA's put in a lot of effort to help you succeed (s/o Teddy!).Rate My Professors ↗
Overall I liked Professor Beatty and I found Astron103 to be very interesting. I'd suggest attending lectures even though he usually reads off of the slides. You will be required to use some algebra throughout, but the professor and TA's are a great resource. It's not a freebie class but if you're interested in astronomy it's totally worth taking.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
ASTRON 500 introduces astrophysics data collection, teaching students to plan, obtain, reduce, and interpret astronomical observations.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2024 · limited sampleASTRON 990 is a research and thesis course providing advanced mentored reading and research opportunities for graduate students.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 500 | Techniques of Modern Observational Astrophysics |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 990 | Research and Thesis |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_4120ed08fc39677b30471f76",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "tgbeatty",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "Thomas Beatty",
"email": "TGBEATTY@WISC.EDU",
"first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 15,
"quality": 4.6,
"difficulty": 2.87,
"quality_count": 15,
"difficulty_count": 15,
"profile_id": "rmp:2827922",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2827922",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:02:14.008706+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_0ad8c1bf7a9e83ae4fb4e5a0": {
"review_count": 13,
"quality": 4.54,
"difficulty": 2.92,
"quality_count": 13,
"difficulty_count": 13
},
"course_823245b47a5a05892191de77": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 3,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 4.062677590598055,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_536bd011904184dd61c59860",
"course_id": "ASTRON 500",
"title": "TECHNIQUES OF MODERN OBSERVATIONAL ASTROPHYSICS",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.609
},
{
"course_uid": "course_e19d71d263531331e5fe2734",
"course_id": "ASTRON 990",
"title": "RESEARCH AND THESIS",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 12,
"gpa": null
}
],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/THOMAS_BEATTY"
}