From the Lecture Hall to the Milky Way: How Astronomy Shapes the Way We Teach and Learn
Moment of magic occurs when the teacher, in the middle of her lecture, looks out the window and, turning to them, says, “You realize the
Hello. I am Michael Chriss. I have been teaching since 1962 – astronomy and humanities. My career has been in the classroom. Teaching has been my passion, my raison d’etre. Welcome to my website. Step into a journey that blends science, philosophy, history, and education.
I have always been interested in astronomy. I am not sure when this interest started, but it did, and it has never left me. By the time I was 10, I had read all the astronomy books in the children’s section of our local library, and the librarian allowed me to borrow books from the adult side. Astronomy then meant the planets and stars. It was a time well before the space programs of today. If you wanted to read about rockets going to the moon, you read science fiction novels. But what excited me more was astronomy – good, old-fashioned astronomy. Just you and the stars. What intrigued me, then and now, was how it was possible to know about the stuff of the universe when it was so far away and so untouchable by us. I knew I wanted to be an astronomer even back then, and it was my fortune to later become a professor of astronomy and teach thousands of others about the stars. I was blessed to have a life filled with boyhood dreams. In a way, I never grew up.
I still think about the universe and my book is filled with these thoughts. Looking back on it all, I am reminded of what Colin Powell said about himself in his autobiography:
I have been lucky in that I found something I liked to do,
that I was good at doing, and that people wanted me to do.
I only regret that I cannot do it all again.
Have you ever looked up at the stars and wondered how people learned what they know about the sky? This book tells that story.
The Philosophy and History of Astronomical Thought takes you through thousands of years of discovery, from ancient sky watchers to modern scientists. This book takes us on a journey from the earliest humans who tracked the stars, to the Greek thinkers who searched for the truth about them, to people like Galileo, Newton, and Einstein whose ideas helped us understand the universe and the nature of truth. It is a journey which is not over.
The book explains the major ideas in astronomy and associated philosophy and shows how our view of the universe has changed over time and why that matters.
Written by a passionate teacher with years of experience, this book is perfect for students, teachers, and anyone who is curious about space and science, and how we came to our current beliefs about them.
EDUCATED PEOPLE AREN’T FUN
I’m no fun! How do I know this? Because I’ve been told this many times. I’ve been told this by my family, by my friends, and, most especially, by my students. They all say the same thing: I’m no fun. Now why do they say this? I think I know. It’s because I am educated, and educated people aren’t any fun. I refuse to believe in the fad of the moment. What excites others, leaves me filled with skepticism, boredom, and ennui. For example, one of my students will come..
GALILEO TONIGHT
It can get really cold in an observatory. There you are, all alone, high up on a platform near the top of the telescope, the dome shutters wide open, and the winter temperature well below freezing. The dome is unheated, of course, so as not to create air currents that would blur your images. You have been there for maybe 3 hours or so, sitting in a chair, peering through a small, frigid eyepiece, trying to keep a faint guide star on the crosswires as you seek to photograph…
When Michael Chriss comes to the lectern, he strides as if he is on stage. He looks at the audience: people in the theatre become silent. He is ready to perform.
Chriss devoted his life in search of ways to become a better teacher. He took acting classes and experimented with costumes. But it is his passion for the subject that makes him an outstanding lecturer.
When he was the only undergraduate astronomy major at the University of Arizona Chriss was mentored by Edwin Francis Carpenter, who was Head of the Astronomy Department and Director of the Steward Observatory. Dr. Carpenter showed him what it meant to be an academic. He taught Chriss much more than astronomy. “He was my role model.”
To be a good teacher one needs three things: knowledge of the subject, ability to organize and communicate the wisdom, and compassion, Chriss says. “Be kind.” You want to teach students how to be a human being as you understand it.
Chriss went to the University of California, Berkeley for a doctorate in astronomy. “And one of the conclusions I came to there was that I am more interested in the history of science than in science.” Chriss changed the department of astronomy for history. Chriss wanted to teach history of ideas, how scientists came up with the ideas that revolutionized the worldview. At the time he started to take drama classes and play in amateur theater plays to become a better teacher.
In the years to follow, Chriss would teach at the College of San Mateo and San Francisco State University. “He blew everybody’s mind with his manner of giving a lecture,” says Victoria Olinchuk, who was an interpreter of Michael Chriss during his visit in Odessa, USSR. Victoria recalls that Chriss’s manner stood out: he performed as if he was on stage, “Every lecture was a show. We didn’t want it ended.”
Thomas Fleming, an astronomer and professor at Steward Observatory recalls when he first saw Chriss. “He came to introduce himself and tell us he used to be a student here in Steward Observatory, and he wanted to know if we needed extra teachers. Most of the astronomers are trained in astrophysics and know nothing about the history of astronomy, and Chriss can speak on the subject.” Steward Observatory has no experts on it, says Fleming, who, as organizer of a public lecture series in the Observatory has multiple times invited Chriss to give a talk.
Chriss challenges his students to discuss the questions such as “Is it truth if it saves the phenomena?” or “Is there only one version of the truth in science?”. His lectures never get too serious or boring. You just get a good feeling how much time he spent on thinking about topics he is lecturing on,” says Rob Lisak, another one of Chriss’s students.
A collection of thoughtful reviews from readers who have been inspired by Michael Chriss’s exploration of astronomy, education, and philosophical reflection.
Michael Chriss
Reflections on astronomy, education, and the human experience. Dive into thoughtful writings inspired by Michael Chriss’s books, where science meets storytelling and curiosity never stops.
Moment of magic occurs when the teacher, in the middle of her lecture, looks out the window and, turning to them, says, “You realize the
People used to believe that the stars are the bright points on the dome in the sky. They are the creators of stories and belief
There was a time when the sky simply was, vast, glittering, eternal. It equipped itself well into myths and the pulse of stories of creation
Have you ever looked up at the stars and wondered how people learned what they know about the sky? This book tells that story.
The Philosophy and History of Astronomical Thought takes you through thousands of years of discovery, from ancient sky watchers to modern scientists. This book takes us on a journey from the earliest humans who tracked the stars, to the Greek thinkers who searched for the truth about them, to people like Galileo, Newton, and Einstein whose ideas helped us understand the universe and the nature of truth. It is a journey which is not over.
The book explains the major ideas in astronomy and associated philosophy and shows how our view of the universe has changed over time and why that matters.
Written by a passionate teacher with years of experience, this book is perfect for students, teachers, and anyone who is curious about space and science, and how we came to our current beliefs about them.
A sweeping exploration of how humanity has understood the cosmos over the millennia. Chriss traces the path from ancient myths to modern science, revealing the cultural, philosophical, and scientific forces that shaped our evolving view of the universe.
A Life in Teaching: An Astronomer Reflects on Life and The Universe
Part memoir, part travelogue, this book recounts the lively career of a man who spent decades teaching astronomy while exploring the world. From California classrooms to cruise ship lectures, Chriss shares humorous, heartfelt stories of learning, wonder, and the joy of passing knowledge on.
