The scale defeats you
Light-years and billions of years are words, not quantities.
Courses
See what you would learn
Understand the universe without the mathematics.
A course on the big ideas in astronomy for non-scientists. It covers stars, galaxies and the expanding universe, and, just as importantly, how scientists actually gather evidence about things they can never visit.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I want to understand the big ideas in astronomy without advanced mathematics. Explain stars, galaxies, and the expanding universe and how scientists gather evidence about them.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
- Best for
- Science & nature
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- What draws you: the scale, the origins, black holes, or how we know any of it?
- How much do you already know, honestly?
- Are you comfortable with big numbers, or do they blur?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
You want to know how we know
Claims about the early universe sound like guesses and you would like the evidence.
You look up and have questions
The sky is right there and you understand almost none of it.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06Scale
From the solar system to the observable universe, made intuitive.
Stars
How they form, shine, die and make the elements you are made of.
Galaxies
What they are, how many, and the dark matter problem.
The expanding universe
Redshift, the Big Bang and what expansion does and does not mean.
How we know
Light as evidence: spectra, distance ladders and the cosmic microwave background.
Open questions
Dark energy, the first moments and what remains genuinely unknown.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Grasp the scale
Hold distances and ages in a way that means something.
Explain the key ideas
Describe how stars live and die, what galaxies are and why the universe expands.
Understand the evidence
Know how light, spectra and redshift let us know what we cannot touch.
Ideas this course corrects
The Big Bang was an explosion in space
It was an expansion of space itself. There was no outside for it to explode into.
Astronomers are guessing about the distant past
Looking far away is looking back in time. The evidence is direct, just very old light.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on the big ideas in astronomy for non-scientists. It covers stars, galaxies and the expanding universe, and, just as importantly, how scientists actually gather evidence about things they can never visit. It sits under Science & nature in the Ideas & discovery part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I want to understand the big ideas in astronomy without advanced mathematics. Explain stars, galaxies, and the expanding universe and how scientists gather evidence about them.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.