Star Formation Courses and Certifications

Spahn's Science Lectures

General Astronomy - The Formation of a Protostar

Explains how cold, dense interstellar clouds collapse into protostars, fragment into stellar nurseries, and launch jets shaped by magnetic fields.

• YouTube
• 23 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Big Bang and Beyond: Exploring the Early Universe

104 ratings at The Great Courses Plus

Explore the universe from the Big Bang through the formation of its first stars and galaxies, and consider its possible ultimate fate.

• The Great Courses Plus
• 6 hours 13 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Trial Available

The Life and Death of Stars

72 ratings at The Great Courses Plus

Gain a better understanding of these spectacular celestial bodies in this enthralling course which features dazzling imagery from Hubble, informative graphics, and animations.

• The Great Courses Plus
• 11 hours 55 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Trial Available

The Royal Institution

The First Billion Years of the Universe

Explore the early Universe's mysteries, from the Big Bang to the first stars. Learn about unusual cosmic phenomena and their impact on our understanding of the Universe today.

• YouTube
• 56 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Royal Institution

Massive Stars and Supernovae – With Thomas Haworth

Explore how rare, short-lived massive stars reshape their surroundings, from clearing planet-forming gas to driving galaxy-wide effects when they explode.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 2 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Spahn's Science Lectures

General Astronomy - The Origin of the Solar System

Explore how cosmic abundances, radioactive dating, and the collapsing solar nebula explain the Sun’s formation and the emergence of a protoplanetary disk.

• YouTube
• 26 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Royal Institution

The Birth of Stars and the Great Cosmic Cycle - 1990 Christmas Lectures 2/5

Explore stellar science and nuclear fusion powering stars like the Sun, plus cutting-edge research on star formation using infrared astronomy and neutrino detection methods.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 12 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

College of DuPage

The Stars: Their Birth, Life, and Death

Embark on a cosmic journey exploring stellar evolution, from birth to death, discovering the fundamental properties, distances, and remarkable characteristics of the countless stars illuminating our universe.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 32 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Astronomy Club, IISER Mohali

Epoch of Reionization: Understanding the Early Universe Through Neutral Hydrogen Distribution

Explore the mysteries of the Universe's early period when the first stars and galaxies formed, focusing on neutral Hydrogen distribution and its role in understanding cosmic evolution.

• YouTube
• 44 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Royal Institution

The Origin of Galaxies - 1990 Christmas Lectures 4/5

Explore how galaxies formed in our expanding Universe, examining dark matter's role and the challenges of stellar birth from collapsing gas clouds in this classic lecture.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 1 minute
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Michel van Biezen

Astronomy - Life and Death of a Low Mass Star

Follow a low-mass star from gravitational collapse through red-giant stages to planetary nebula, white dwarf, and possible nova.

• YouTube
• 1 hour 30 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Michel van Biezen

Astrophysics - Star Equilibrium

Explores how nebulae collapse into stars and how hydrostatic equilibrium and pressure gradients sustain stellar structure.

• YouTube
• 30 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

IUCAA;  AICTE

Stars And Stellar Systems

Explore stars across their lifecycles and systems, from stellar evolution and variability to neutron stars, the Sun, asteroseismology, and extrasolar planets.

• Swayam
• 16 weeks
• Not Currently Offered
• Free Online Course