Looking to the stars for guidance, literally.
You sometimes hear those stories of people who took classes that changed their lives, or met a professor who changed their perspective on a subject. Well, this happened to me, as well as my friends, Maya Looney and Alana Waterman. Astronomy C10 (Astron C10) is one of those life-changing classes at UC Berkeley.
I met Maya and Alana while getting telescope trained for the Undergraduate Astronomy Society (UAS). We got to talking about how we got to UAS, and oddly enough, we all had a similar story. We took Astronomy C10 in our freshman years with Professor Alex Filippenko, and it inspired each of us to change or add the astrophysics major.
What is Astron C10?
Astron C10 is officially the Introduction to General Astronomy, where Professor Filippenko covers stars, galaxies, planets, and cosmology. It’s intended to give a broad overview of the structure and evolution of our universe. It fulfills the Physical Science breadth requirement in the College of Letters and Science and counts for four units, meaning that it translates to roughly 12 hours of work per week including lectures and discussions.
Professor Filippenko is known for giving active, interesting, and entertaining lectures, including his famous Halloween lecture, where he dresses as a black hole and throws candy to the attendees of the lecture.
The famous Halloween lecture. Professor Filippenko is dressed as a black hole with a little alien hanging around his neck.
The class also takes a field trip to the Lick Observatory every year, where students spend the day hiking between the telescopes on-site. Attendance to this field trip is by application only, but showing enthusiasm in your application essay to the Professor will very likely guarantee you a spot! I wrote about my love for space and included some of my astro-poetry and astrophotography. That field trip is one of my favorite memories made at UC Berkeley. I spent time on the drive up speaking to one of the Undergraduate Student Instructors (UGSIs) about the astrophysics major, being in awe of the telescopes and clear night sky on the mountain, and taking too many photos.
Some photos from my trip to the Lick Observatory! Top left: a photo of myself in the misty daytime of our visit. Top right: a selfie with the Professor in front of the crypt of James Lick, the observatory’s namesake. Bottom left: part of the mini-hikes we made between telescopes. Bottom right: the Lick 36-inch refractor telescope! It weighs more than 12 tons, and we were allowed to manually move it on this trip by climbing up on a ladder and pushing (really hard).
I asked two of my alumni friends — Alana, who majored in astrophysics and physics, and Maya, who majored in astrophysics and planetary science — how taking Astron C10 changed their lives. Here’s what they had to say.
What made you decide to take Astron C10?
“I wanted to take Astron C10 because it was a general introduction to astronomy. Even though I wasn’t a declared astrophysics major, I was interested in pursuing astrophysics, but I wasn’t sure. I was doing that with a few different majors — I signed up for lower division English courses and a lower division physics course. I took C10 as a trial for that.” — Maya Looney, Class of 2026
“I initially took C10 because I needed more units in my first semester freshman year and I already knew I loved astronomy. I wanted a deeper understanding of something that was a hobby!” — Alana Waterman, Class of 2026
What was your favorite aspect of the course?
“I had two favorite parts: one was the unit where we talked about astrobiology and exoplanets because I realized that that was something I was really interested in. I didn’t know that was a field in astrophysics specifically. The other thing I really liked was the lab nights where we got to use the telescopes; that’s how I got introduced to Telescope Crew and learned how to operate the Cassegrain and Newtonian telescopes.” — Maya Looney, Class of 2026
Left: Telescope Crew 2024–2025 standing beside the same telescope! This was the year that Maya was the Head Telescope Officer of UAS. Right: Maya operating the Richard Treffers Dome Telescope in Campbell Hall. Photo credits to Lana Waterman and Andrew McHaty.
“My favorite aspect of the course was how many Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) and UGSIs ran the class. The Astronomy Learning Center (TALC) was very fun and helpful, and they all knew so much. I also really loved how passionate Professor Filippenko was about sharing knowledge and that he shared my astronomy poems with the class.” — Alana Waterman, Class of 2026
How did taking the class lead to changing your major?
“My original major was English. Something in particular that made me change my view on astronomy was the astrobiology and exoplanets unit in Astron C10 because that was really interesting to me and I didn’t know that was a field before. After that unit, I actually looked specifically into more planets majors at Berkeley and I learned about planetary science. That course really influenced me to change from an English major into an astrophysics and planetary science double major, which was exciting. I also just really liked the community and the passion that the class had. Everyone came to class and to office hours, and everyone was really excited to ask questions and it made me more excited to learn.” — Maya Looney, Class of 2026
“My original major was legal studies or political science. I ended up getting involved with UAS’s Telescope Crew through one of the UGSIs for Astron C10. I stayed up all night with a group of classmates and this UGSI at Campbell Hall (the Astronomy Department building) to try and complete a lab for the class. The weather ended up preventing us from doing so, but I got an email the next day encouraging me to join Telescope Crew since I had a knack for staying up late observing the sky. I ended up getting so involved in UAS and obsessed over the material in the class. As the semester was coming to an end, I realized I couldn’t simply go back to my life before. I met my best friend (Maya) and realized my passion for astronomy.” — Alana Waterman, Class of 2026
Alana in the Richard Treffers Dome, operating the telescope.
What do you wish you knew before taking the class?
“Before the class I wish I’d known how much I’d enjoy lab nights! I put them off for a while when I was taking the class but they really made my experience so much better when I started going.” — Maya Looney, Class of 2026
“If there was one thing I wish I knew before taking the course, it would be how much of my time would be taken up by the labs. They were really fun, but my advice would be to start them as early as possible, especially since they are weather-dependent!” — Alana Waterman, Class of 2026
Would you say Astron C10 changed your life?
“Now that I have graduated with an astrophysics and a planetary science degree, I can definitely say that this course changed my life. I am really interested in planetary objects and in pursuing astrophysics in the future and someday going to grad school, none of which I would’ve done if I had pursued English or I hadn’t taken Astron C10. Also, my love of optics is from telescopes, which I learned about through Astron C10.” — Maya Looney, Class of 2026
“I’m standing in the hutch of one of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL) synchrotron beam lines to conduct a laser heating experiment on meteorite shavings.” — Maya Looney, Class of 2026
“Astron C10 literally did change the course of my life. I met my best friends, changed my major, added on physics through the encouragement of people like the UGSIs I met in the course, and became involved in the Undergraduate Astronomy Society.” — Alana Waterman, Class of 2026
Lana (bottom left) and Maya (bottom right) tabling for UAS with fellow officers. On their right is a Newtonian telescope with a solar filter, making it safe to look through the eyepiece of the telescope directly at the Sun!
A lasting impact
Taking Astron C10 ultimately led me to add a second major in astrophysics to my original plan of majoring in only political science, and I’m so happy I did! Similarly to Maya and Alana, I’ve also met some of my closest friends through classes for the major, teaching Python for Astronomers, and being in UAS.
I highly recommend taking this class, especially for non-astronomy majors! Despite our experiences switching to the astrophysics major after taking this course, the class is usually made up of mostly non-astronomy majors, because it’s a very large and popular breadth course! You will learn a lot, make so many new friends, and be able to pull out fun-fact knowledge on the universe whenever you please!
Milana Berhe, Class of 2028, is majoring in astrophysics and political science and minoring in creative writing. Cover photo provided by Alana Waterman.
Want more?
- If you’re interested in taking Astron C10, make sure you know how to Choose Classes @ Cal.
- Check Nolan’s guide to Breadth Requirements.
- Nina had a similar experience with their Life-Changing Asian American Creative Writing Class.