Astronomy, the oldest of the sciences, originated in the human urge to understand the mysterious lights we see in the sky above us—the Sun, the Moon, the planets and the stars. Over the centuries, new tools have become available to study these cosmic icons—telescopes that allow us to see further and fainter, detectors that are sensitive to electromagnetic signals at non-visible wavelengths, and satellites that can observe from outside the confines of the Earth’s atmosphere. These tools have answered many questions, but raised even more.<br><br>Prepare you for graduate studies for master’s or doctoral degrees in experimental or theoretical Astronomy, Astrophysics or Physics. Prepare you for employment in industrial or governmental laboratories. Provide a broad background for further work in other sciences, such as materials sciences, aerospace, computer science, geophysics, meteorology, radiology, medicine, biophysics, engineering, and environmental studies. Provide a science-oriented liberal education. This training can be useful in some areas of business administration, public policy, law, or other fields where a basic knowledge of science is useful.