Crazy class to be honest. Was supposed to be an easy A and turned out to be my worst class. The semester before it was all online and now it is all on paper. There is TOO MUCH material. I feel like I learned because there was so much he talked about. He is way too into space which is cool but also thinks we are all meant to be NASA astronauts. If you like having peace in your life, I wouldn't recommend this class as much. Did enjoy though, sometimes.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS WITH PROFESSOR MURPHY. was supposed to be an easy A class but the worst, most boring class of all time. there is no curve and there is way too much material. you are way better off taking a different class for your requirements. do not let the other reviews fool you, if I had known what I was getting into I would have dropped this class instantly. Please save yourself and GPA.

I think this class has gotten harder especially with moving the exams from online to in-person. Professor Murphy is fun, and a good guy/professor—he knows his stuff. The class can get way too tedious with all of the different labs, homeworks, and assignments, and was often my busiest class if not one of my busier ones. For an 1000 level astronomy class to fulfill a requirement it's ultimately not worth it, just too much work and content for exams that many people struggled on. tCFfall25

Professor Murphy is INCREDIBLE. His lectures are very engaging and he's clearly extremely passionate about the content. Grades in this class are very fairly divided between HW, Labs, PollEV q's, and exams. He also provides study guides for his exams that align perfectly with the exam content which makes studying very easy and A's very achievable. Go to lecture, read the textbook, and you'll be fine.

IGNORE THE OTHER REVIEWS. I took this class just to fulfill a requirement, and it was a terrible choice. In the grand scheme of UVA courses, there are so many easier options that count for the same requirement. This is, without a doubt, one of the hardest classes I’ve taken here.

Murphy is a great professor, but I still wouldn’t recommend this class.

This is a great easy class to take if you need to fulfill a gened requirement. The midterms and final are online and open note, and the rest of your grade is lecture participation (poll everywhere) and homework and labs, also online. The hardest part of the class are the two labs that you have to go to in person, but if you have an hour free on a Monday night, you'll be fine. I recommend.

I'll preface by saying that I am a humanities major, and haven't taken a science course since sophomore year of high school...I struggled more than I was expecting in this course based on the reviews. I did every homework and lab, attended every lecture, went to office hours, had a tutor, and still did poorly on exams every time. My one critique of the course would be that the tests were oddly worded and often confusing. Despite the fact that I got Cs on every exam, I ended up with a B+ in the course. Professor Murphy genuinely wants everyone to succeed, and there are many opportunities to bump up your grade (PollEverywhere, early lab submission, etc). He is a really nice guy, and super passionate about astronomy. Had I been more interested in the subject matter and less inept in STEM courses, I likely would have earned an A.

11/10 recommend! I'm not personally a physical sciences person, so I took this class as an easy science requirement. As a first year, this class really felt like good way to ease into big lecture hall style classes. Prof Murphy is so engaging and I love the way he lectures. This class has made me seriously consider taking more courses in the astronomy department. For tests and homework, they are mostly easy if you listen and take notes during lectures, as well as read the textbook chapters posted in Canvas for the week. Tests and quizzes are open note and textbook.

I took this class as a first year and it changed my life! Professor Murphy is a phenomenal lecturer and a very nice guy. I took this class during the pandemic, when it was mostly asynchronous. During class times, he would hold optional office hours, where he would tell us about events in the world of astronomy and tell us the stories behind constellations. The class itself covered a lot of topics in astronomy and, although it wasn't super easy, the professor was always willing to re-explain things to make sure you were getting it. Taking this class sparked my interest in astronomy, and although I didn't end up majoring in astronomy, I did just finish my minor in it and am now headed to grad school for science writing. I feel that taking this class helped me to pinpoint what I liked about science and learn how to apply it to my other interests. I would definitely recommend this class to anyone -- even if you aren't that interested in science and are just looking to fill a requirement. #tCFS24

Like most people taking this class, I took this for an easier science credit since I am not a STEM person. If you are in the same boat as I am, I would highly recommend this course. Professor Murphy is extremely passionate about his subject and makes it very clear in his lectures. Sometimes the lectures went off topic in my opinion but by no means is that the end of the world. the class is broken down by homework assignments, virtual labs, participation, three exams, and a final. The three exams and final were take home; however, they were somewhat challenging. DO NOT slack off on the online homework assignments as they carry a lot of weight and are easy to just not care about. I thankfully ended with a A but it would have been higher if I had not slacked off on the homework. Professor Murphy is super flexible and offers zoom lectures, which came in handy as it allowed for me to stay home longer during fall break. I really appreciated that from him. The course was extremely interesting the first couple of weeks but then i found it starting to become dull as the semester went on. If in search for an easy science credit, I would recommend