Astronomy and Astrophysics

Catalog description

Have you ever wondered how astronomers can measure the distance to a star? Or how long the Sun will live and what will happen when it dies out? These are some of the questions we’ll answer in this introductory astrophysics survey course. Course topics range from the observations and experiments of the earliest astronomers, to established modern ideas like the big bang theory, dark matter and dark energy, and cutting-edge developments such as the direct imaging of black holes and detection of gravitational waves. Broad topic areas include properties of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, the motion of planets in our solar system, orbital dynamics, the birth, evolution, and death of stars, galaxy formation and evolution, general relativity, black holes, the large-scale structure of the universe and cosmology. We’ll also discuss different types of telescopes-including space telescopes. Although this isn’t a lab course, so long as there is sufficient interest, there will be a night of observing planned which students have the option to attend.