What's New in Astrophysics 2025?

The James Webb telescope is only one of a number of new space- and ground-based missions that are already or about to be pushing our frontiers. We will discuss some of their results and what they hope to achieve as they explore the universe. The primary areas of research are in cosmology, galaxy evolution, and exoplanet atmosphere. Appropriate for a lay science fan.

Faculty Bio

Professor Emeritus Gibor Basri taught in the Astronomy Department at UC Berkeley for 35 years. His favorite classes were the introductory courses for non-majors and small freshman seminars. He enjoys making science accessible to the general public and received the Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization in 2016. 

This is an In-Person, Livestreamed + Recorded Course

• Classes meet in person at the Golden Bear Center, Suite 365, at 1995 University Ave., Berkeley
• Classes will also stream live simultaneously and be video recorded
• You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.

Schedule Highlights

• Course starts on Monday, June 23, and ends on Monday, June 30
• Classes meet for 2 weeks, two hours per session (1–3 PM)
• Course materials will remain available to view and enjoy through Aug. 31

Member Praise for Gibor Basri

Class and instruction over-the-top outstanding. Clear and level-appropriate descriptions of esoteric phenomena that were not always intuitive. Hard subject delivered with finesse. (I'm a nuclear physicist.) 

Professor Basri's relaxed folksy teaching style made a sometimes complex subject exciting, and his voice was warm and engaging. So many other teachers get lost in the details, but Basri never lost the human dimension of the subject, especially that the first astronomers were Africans!

Faculty Q&A

• Read an interview with Gibor Basri from our archive.