'The big result was that a majority of students thought the universe was round prior to taking ASTRO 101. Their reasoning varied from appeals to authority (such

'The big result was that a majority of students thought the universe was round prior to taking ASTRO 101. Their reasoning varied from appeals to authority (such as “I think I read it somewhere”) to the fact that there are so many round objects in the universe.' 'Some students also referenced the idea of the Big Bang as an explosion out from a central point, lending spherical imagery.' 'Students also expressed a lot of skepticism about our ability to measure the curvature of the universe. As one student interviewed stated, “Everything I’ve ever seen about…the shape of the universe was pure speculation.'