This course emphasizes the practical and computational skills used to make precise measurements of astronomical phenomena with the goal of understanding the scale of the universe. Topics include: the interstellar medium, Cepheid variables, mapping the Milky Way, advanced stellar photometry and spectroscopy, and the cosmic distance ladder. Students work at Grainger Observatory, located on the Exeter campus, pursue independent projects throughout the term, and study the work in progress at other observatories and research centers.