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Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Science of the Solar System by Caltech

4.8
stars
774 ratings

About the Course

Learn about the science behind the current exploration of the solar system in this free class. Use principles from physics, chemistry, biology, and geology to understand the latest from Mars, comprehend the outer solar system, ponder planets outside our solar system, and search for habitability in our neighborhood and beyond. This course is generally taught at an advanced level assuming a prior knowledge of undergraduate math and physics, but the majority of the concepts and lectures can be understood without these prerequisites. The quizzes and final exam are designed to make you think critically about the material you have learned rather than to simply make you memorize facts. The class is expected to be challenging but rewarding....

Top reviews

CE

Mar 3, 2020

Learning facilitated by good lecturing, well prepared lectures and excellent quizzes.

Lecturer Mike Brown, enthusiastic about his subject, generous in sharing his knowledge, humorous, and honest.

GN

Nov 28, 2017

Challenging. Amazing. Mind-Blowing.

Space enthusiasts should totally do this course. And yeah, did I say that Mike Brown is the coolest teacher ever. Never a dull moment in the lectures. :)

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251 - 275 of 283 Reviews for The Science of the Solar System

By Deleted A

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Sep 28, 2020

I love CalTech

By MD A R A

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Oct 3, 2020

Excellent !!!

By Bruna P C

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Apr 27, 2018

Excellent!!!!

By Reclus P

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Mar 28, 2024

passionnant

By MOHAMMED R P

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May 25, 2023

GOOD COURSE

By kousay a

•

May 4, 2016

The best!

By Sumant D

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Oct 2, 2021

xtensive

By Rodrigo C

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Dec 1, 2017

Awesome!

By Vinicius F D N

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May 19, 2021

WOW !

By undersaturn

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Oct 24, 2022

By gaocen

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Dec 31, 2016

I

By Karen M

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Mar 13, 2023

A very interesting course, enjoyable and engaging. I appreciated the ability to extend deadlines if needed and go back and re-watch sections for better understanding. I would recommend the course even if your Maths and Physics are not advanced as mine aren't. I was encouraged by Mike's commentary to carry on with the course even if that meant skimming the surface for some of the Maths and Physics, and I was glad I did. It would have had a 5 star rating from me but some of the material is getting a bit out-of-date, i.e. the latest data on exploration of the Solar System. Thank you for the course.

By Juan M

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Sep 9, 2018

Awesome course! A lot of information, I have been taught Master courses which teach you much less than this one. There are a few cons though. No Mercury, nor Venus units (they are barely mentioned through the entire course). And it would be nice to have access to the oficial notes, if there are, so we can take a look before watching the lectures ( I understand that this could be too much for an online course).

By Harold W J

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Aug 5, 2020

This course is excellent for anyone wanting to learn about the solar system and the processes that let us learn even more. The course isn't that hard and your given plenty of time to retake quizzes and re-watch lectures. The only downside is that the course is a little bit outdated since it was made back in 2017.

By Mark A

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Jun 11, 2017

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this course. However, at work I am only likely to use knowledge about minerals and rocks found on Mars and the asteroids because of the nature of my current job. In the personal enrichment category, learning about the Grand Tack and Nice model were most significant.

By Bart S

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Nov 21, 2016

Extremely informative and fun! Perhaps update some material with the latest findings (e.g. results from the Dawn mission to Ceres as well as more details on the elusive Planet 9).

Thank you nonetheless Prof. Brown for sharing your contagious enthusiasm for the science of solar system with us!

By Jim A

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Jul 9, 2017

Really good, great recent material with decent presentation. (Pet peeve: a small percentage of quiz questions were not well formed and impossible to answer with material provided.) I'd take additional courses from same instructor.

By Gihan I

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Nov 10, 2018

I find this course presented quite exciting with Prof Brown; but at times the mathematical calculations leave me far behind.

The fact that this course is a preliminary for graduates to Caltech is the reason for this.

By Tammie E

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Mar 22, 2024

Brilliant course, learned a lot. Mike is an engaging teacher! However, I would say it's not for beginners (I really struggled and took days to get the quizzes correct with only 3 attempts each day).

By ZRIHEN J

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Apr 25, 2022

Very captivating course presenting the solar system in general. And in more detail the water on Mars, the giant planets and life in the universe .

By Richard S

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Nov 21, 2020

One of the best online courses I've done. Mike and his colleagues' enthusiasm for the subject is engaging and kept my interest - thank you all.

By Akash C

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Jul 30, 2020

It has been such a great journey with instructor Mike Brown... I've learned many new things which will help me to progress... Thanks

By Aryaman T

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Jul 28, 2021

The course was great but since the videos were like actual university lectures i found them a bit monotonous.

By Alina M S

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Jan 5, 2020

Very good but also very challenging so I often have no clue what is going on

By Joy S

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Dec 2, 2019

Fascinating. Super informative.