New discoveries are happening every day in space, from trying to find other life , returning Pluto to its planetary status, and observing the bizarre patterns of black hole behavior. However, it’s easy to ignore them with the business of our lives. While looking through a telescope or charting the orbits of planets may not be high on most people’s to-do list, learning about space can provide perspective and the chance to learn something entirely new.

Mira Costa is only one of two schools in California that offer astrophysics, and only 2% of  high school graduates will pursue astrophysics in college. The astrophysics class was created two years ago by Mr. Bartlett, and since its creation it now has over 160 students every day. Some students sign up for the class because it is rumored to be easy, but many choose astrophysics because of a genuine curiosity for the class. Hope Stamp and Miles Isgrig find out why so many students take astrophysics.