Professor Surdin – spring lectures on general astronomy!

It's already autumn. Almost winter. The year is drawing to a close. But in the second half of spring, 2025, I did something incredible for myself. I tried something new. These are Professor Surdin's online lectures on astronomy. General astronomy. You can find them online. There are tons of lectures there. A hundred or even 150-odd. And they cover the whole general topic. Space, planets.

I had the good fortune, so to speak, to virtually attend the lectures of this famous professor. And they cover general astronomy. This is important to say. I understand he gives these lectures to everyone. To techies and anyone else. To geographers, for example. That is, there are no formulas. One or two per lecture, maximum. And that's the general topic. He explains everything in words.

Astronomy is about space. That's clear. But then there are many topics within it. It's the planets. It's the cosmos as a whole. It's planet Earth and its evolution. These are moons in space. These are different objects. It's the process of observation. Telescopes. The history of star observation. All sorts of tricky concepts, like the celestial sphere. The bare minimum. It's all its own. Its own angles. Its own measurements. Radio astronomy. Radio telescopes. Antennas.

And a planet. One planet after another. The Moon, Earth. Mars. And so on. Each planet is easily a separate topic. If anyone is suddenly interested. Everywhere has its own topic. Its own interesting things. And everything is so different. One is unlike the other.

I watched lectures online. They're easy to find. So, write Surdin's lectures on astronomy. And everything is easy to find. I think the Moscow State University channel was in my case. A whole playlist. Yes, the channel is called something about Moscow State University. Moscow State University Channel. And there are Surdin's lectures on astronomy. I think I was writing some kind of astronomy lessons and found it that way.

There are practically no formulas there. So there's no need to be afraid. But still, it's complicated there too. Huge volumes of material. A wide variety of topics. Planets aren't like a telescope. And I figured it would be worthwhile to interest smart kids. And to decide on a topic with a professor. So to speak. Someone on radio observations. Someone on the optical spectrum. Someone on the theory of the universe. Someone on the planets. Or a single planet.

The rest – listen to a series of lectures. As many as possible. To grow smarter and develop. We know nothing about the world around us! There's a whole cosmos out there! Asteroids. Plenty of them. Even there, you can find something interesting. The different states of ice and water. Negative temperatures. It's like a whole series of science fiction! That Professor Surdin. Only all this is real.

I myself was thinking about learning this kind of astronomy so I could write songs about space rock. I need to know what I'm singing about. But so far I've realized that's a bit difficult. And I'll probably also focus more on artistic, mystical, and esoteric writing about space. If I learn how, of course. Maybe with elements of astronomy. Now I understand – astronomy is a complex thing. And it won't work without preparation. That's why musicians sing artistically. About emotions. Space as emotions. I understand that now. And it also turns out to be on a psychedelic space theme.

The professor also said that programming is a big part of modern astronomy. You need to program a lot. So I realized I'm a bit lacking, to be honest. And programming is an anchor. To cling to and not sink to the bottom. So I switched to all sorts of programming lessons. I need to study programming. Again. The topic of writing programs.

Generally, programming is the key to many modern topics. Computer games. And creativity. My main topic. And astronomy is also revealed through programming. Two in one. So to speak, an 8-bit cartridge for the Dendy. A lucky choice. Especially if there are two great games in it! I had just such a cartridge as a child!