Course Description
Set sail for a journey into the incredible mysteries and wonders of our universe. Explore celestial phenomena visible from Earth, from the transient beauty of fire rainbows to breathtaking nebulas. Then soar out to explore the Universe’s most bizarre and extreme happenings, like supernova explosions, the big bang, supermassive black holes and time travel. Immerse yourself in the life of an astronaut on space exploration missions to the International Space Station. Witness the golden age of our new space economy and the future of space tourism.
Course Director
Tom Vassos
Tom Vassos is an astronomer, university instructor, founder of Cosmologists Without Borders, member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and author of several books. He is the Astronomer-in-Residence for Royal Caribbean and Holland America cruise lines, leading astronomy and eclipse expeditions worldwide. Mr. Vassos’ teaching career has spanned 35 years at the University of Toronto, and he is currently teaching astronomy courses at Glendon College and Innis College.
Tom Vassos
Term and Time
Winter 2026 – starting January
12:50 pm on Friday afternoon
Room TBA in York Hall
Course Outline
Two weeks before the course starts, you can download a printable PDF giving the 10-week detailed course outline.
NOTE: The course outline opens in a new browser tab where you cannot see the LLIR page header and menu. You can download the outline for future reading and printing. When you are finished, return to our website as follows:
— On a large screen, click the X on the right side of the browser tab to close it.
— On a smartphone, click the back button displayed as a back arrowhead ( < ) .
Lecture Notes
Links to resources such as additional reading or play lists are provided here as the Course Director makes them available during term. Like the course outline, lecture notes open in a new browser tab so that you can download and print them.
Return to the list of current courses to check out another course.