Chevron Left
Back to Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life by The University of Edinburgh

4.8
stars
2,566 ratings

About the Course

Learn about the origin and evolution of life and the search for life beyond the Earth....

Top reviews

KG

Jul 24, 2020

A great opportunity to learn a lot of things especially in terms of seeking the origin of life here on our planet Earth and beyond in the vast universe. Thank you for the knowledge and everything.

VS

Sep 15, 2020

A great opportunity to learn a lot of things especially in terms of seeking the origin of life here on our planet Earth and beyond in the vast universe. Thank you for the knowledge and everything.

Filter by:

26 - 50 of 683 Reviews for Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

By Vidya S

•

Sep 16, 2020

A great opportunity to learn a lot of things especially in terms of seeking the origin of life here on our planet Earth and beyond in the vast universe. Thank you for the knowledge and everything.

By KING P C G

•

Jul 25, 2020

A great opportunity to learn a lot of things especially in terms of seeking the origin of life here on our planet Earth and beyond in the vast universe. Thank you for the knowledge and everything.

By Emilie S

•

Jan 13, 2022

This course in Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life is exceptionally informative. And though I admit my reasons for taking this course was based upon an assumption that I might still have some real precious lifetime left and yet to learn a bit more about life than the imminent process of dying while trying to live beyond Man's process of death. And so it is, as I am still a little bit here amongst the living, I'd like to express my sincere gratitude toward all the fine people who kindly contributed their hard work, their lives and dedication toward helping the general public and people like me to gain something of meaningful value here, and ever more so from the knowledge that experts out here in this new field of science are beginning to share with the world at large. So, many thanks to the expert, Professor Charles Cockell. Even though this course is a bit outdated, it is still a wonderful and valuable presentation and yet an excellent way of informing the public about the search for Extraterrestrial Life as well. I too live in hope that with the help and knowledge of some real supra intelligence here, perhaps we too could find a workable solution to some of the worst problems and one that has the ability to stop this murderous, earth entity from destroying the only real source of nature that we All came to live by.

Thanks to All for your help

By Deepkant R

•

Feb 26, 2023

Dear Sir,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for the incredible astrobiology course that you taught. As someone with a passion for space and the search for life beyond our planet, I found your course to be exceptionally well-designed and informative.

Your lectures were engaging and accessible, providing a comprehensive overview of the various disciplines that contribute to astrobiology. I particularly appreciated how you integrated both the scientific and philosophical aspects of the field, encouraging us to consider the big questions about the nature of life and the universe.

Furthermore, your assignments and assessments were challenging but fair, providing ample opportunities for us to apply what we learned and engage with the material in a meaningful way.

Overall, I can confidently say that your course has enriched my understanding of astrobiology and left me with a deep appreciation for the exciting research happening in the field. Thank you for your dedication to teaching and for sharing your expertise with us.

Best regards

DEEP KANT RAJ

By Ethige I P S

•

May 15, 2020

Excellent and well-designed course! Thanks a lot, Sir for this amazing experience.

This course has its own beautiful flow from the beginning to the end and with very well understandable simple English for anyone in the world. I am so sure that this course is going to give me a huge boost to my future carrier and in my dream field.

Suggestions: Few contents have to be revised and updated since many major astrobiological findings were done during the last few years.

By Nikola C

•

Feb 9, 2020

A great introductory course for those that have an interest on how life could possibly survive elsewhere other than Earth. I am self-educated by the means of reading and watching documentaries and this course peaked my interest. I was able to follow and understand the modules discussed, even though I haven't had any formal study for the past 15 years.

The structure of the course was simple and well-thought through which I thoroughly enjoyed!

By María d J A M

•

Dec 8, 2021

Es un interesante curso con los aspectos más destacables sobre el tema de la astrobiología, algunos conceptos los conocía otros fueron nuevos e integrar todo este conocimiento me abre nuevas perspectivas, la forma en como está diseñado permite avanzar y aprender a alumnos con distintos antecedentes escolares, además me permitió practicar mi comprensión auditiva de una lengua no nativa pues mi dominio es intermedio.

By Kazeem F

•

Jan 19, 2022

I have always been interested and wondered about life on our world and how life came into existence, what triggered life, and of course the meaning of life and where it originated from. Which is the driving force to taking on this course and so far its been very interesting and fascinating to learning the frontier of our ancient Astrobiologists. I will like to complete a diploma and be a Astrobiologist.

By Susann

•

May 21, 2019

Excellent course by Professor Cockell from the University of Edinburgh. The lectures are interesting and easy to follow. A wide variety of subject are covered and presented very well. I did speed up the videos a little bit. Only point of criticism I have: In one of the quiz questions one possible answer is "about a decade ago". This of cause does not work well in a course that is online for a longer time.

By James W

•

Apr 26, 2017

Excellent course! I'm an electrical engineer, not an astronomer nor biologist. However, I've always been interested in both topics. This course delved into both just enough where I stayed focused and understood everything. Each course was extremely interesting and I learned many new things in each. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the science behind the search for extraterrestrial life!

By Nicholas K

•

Nov 4, 2018

The Astrobiology course is a brilliant MOOC which briefly explains the basic principles of astrobiology but also some extremely interesting facts in this field. The course has a nice and steady flow which is easy to follow and the deadlines are flexible and easy to manage. Overall, I really enjoyed spending my time on this course. It was the perfect way to learn more on this field. Astrobiology rocks!!.

By Oriane K

•

May 13, 2017

Very interesting. I enjoyed learning more about biosignatures detections and proper conditions for life on other planets. I recommend this course for everyone interested in the subject. Please note the course seems to date back to 2013, and new discoveries have been made afterwards - like the TRAPPIST-1 system found in 2015 and recently announced by the NASA. But the fundamental notions remain the same.

By Diana D B

•

Sep 3, 2015

This is a terrific course! I really enjoyed Dr. Cockrell's lecture style. He is very articulate and presents and explains the material very well. The photos and graphics were very useful for following the lectures and understanding the material.

I found the "What Have We Learned" summaries after each lecture very helpful. I would like to take more courses offered by Dr. Cockrell in the future.

By Khushali B

•

Oct 20, 2020

It was very good investing my time in this course. The content and structure of the course is good enough to give you almost intermediate level of knowledge on the subject of astrobiology and most important benefit is that anybody who is completely unaware of the subject can also take up the course and understand everything that is explained. I enjoyed reading and learning from this course.

By Rosa S

•

Mar 22, 2018

I would strongly reccomend this course to anyone who would like to have a first approach to the outstanding topic of Astrobiology. I was always fascinated by such argument, and this course have provided me the basic notions on it. Now I know which specific topics I would like to deepen. Moreover, prof. Cockell has the hability to make every subject understandable and interesting.

By Prem K B

•

Aug 14, 2020

The course was good and was specific. Though the field of astrobiology is still in its very initial stages but the updation is required to the course as many new space missions and discoveries has been made. The case studies were good and quite ample but there is incorporation of case studies related to new space programmes. Nevertheless, the course was smooth and comprehensive.

By John M

•

Feb 17, 2023

I enjoyed this course very much. I learned a lot about the potential existence of extraterrestrial life in the cosmos, a brief history of what has been accomplished, and the issues that are important if there just happened to be life in other worlds. I would very much recommend this course to other people that would be interested in the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

By Gaurav B

•

May 13, 2021

One of the most insightful and informative courses I have ever taken. It goes into vast details about how life on earth might have originated and what conditions similar to earth might have the possibility to hosts life. I really enjoyed the last week's (5) lecture on Aliens, it really opened my mind.

Highly recommend taking this course. Thank you University of Edinburgh.

By Amber S

•

Jan 24, 2020

Very interesting course. I studied this topic in my biology degree and wanted to learn some more about astrobiology. It was interesting and engaging. The tests were fair, not too easy, not too hard - the right level of challenge. I recommend the course! Maybe for a beginner to the topic, it could be hard at first with the new vocabulary, but the course is well explained

By Kristy W

•

May 22, 2021

Thank you! I loved this course. I learned so much and really enjoyed how excited the professor seemed by the subject matter. One thing I would suggest is to not put questions on the quizzes that aren't covered in the class. That happened on a few occasions. I thought I was mistaken, but went back and watched all the associated videos and the item was never mentioned.

By Shivani D

•

May 3, 2020

This course has broadened my perspective on the origins of life on Earth, its evolution and the possible existence of extraterrestrial life. Professor Cockell and the University of Edinburgh has provided a great introductory programme to astrobiology, and it has confirmed my interest to pursue related studies at university. Thank you for such an invigorating course!

By Orlando A M M

•

Nov 9, 2022

Professor Cockell is an eminence in the field, and has been profusingly publishing on the subject,

https://www.amazon.com/Charles-S-Cockell/e/B001HQ2MRK?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1668008635&sr=8-1

hence I thought it to be a good idea to take this course. Maybe it needs to be updated with the latest developments on the matter, but is a great resource to get started

By Coleen M

•

Aug 16, 2020

I have always been interested in astronomy and astrobiology, so I was extremely excited when I came across this course. Lecture material was not only interesting but concepts were explained simply and concisely. This was a great introductory course and I would recommend it to anyone who is also interested in learning more about astrobiology. Thank you!

By tradeinf@fred.net

•

Mar 16, 2021

Professor Cockell is extremely knowledgeable and well versed in this exploration of astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial life. He is an excellent communicator and skilled at presenting a logical breakdown of this course material. I thoroughly enjoyed his course and would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in this field of study.

By Temesgen K

•

Aug 3, 2020

The course is very interesting and covered many aspects to understand the origin of life on our planet. The evolution of life on our planet. And the possibilities of life elsewhere. In addition, it covers many aspects of the universe related to life and helps us to do more research in the areas to answer questions that are open and not concluded yet.