Introductory description

Astronomy is the study of everything that occurs beyond the Earth's atmosphere. The module covers the concepts and techniques that are the basis of astronomy. It investigates a diverse range of astronomical objects, ranging from planets, to stars and galaxies, to the Universe as a whole. We focus on the fundamental properties of these objects, such as their masses, sizes, distances and temperatures. We will see that understanding of what is observed requires understanding of fundamental physics, particularly in relation to gravity and light, as well as mathematics.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Description of the main constituents of the Universe with typical sizes, masses and distances covering: planets, stars, blackholes, and galaxies.

Angles, distances & sizes: angular size and the small-angle approximation; trigonometric parallax; simple astronomical telescopes, spectrographs, and detectors.

Masses: the Doppler effect and the measurement of speed from spectra; the use of speeds and sizes to derive masses in the Solar System, binary stars, star clusters and galaxies.

Physical properties of stars: stellar temperatures; spectra and elemental compositions. Physical conditions within stars.

Galaxies: the Milky Way; galaxy types, galaxy evolution.

The Universe: Hubble's discovery of the expansion of the Universe; implication of a finite age; the Big Bang, the Cosmic Microwave Background; the composition of the Universe.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding, and make use, of concepts in astronomy, including astronomical coordinates, angles, fluxes, and magnitudes
• Identify, describe, and demonstrate understanding of the main constituents of the Universe, including planets, stars, black holes, and galaxies
• Describe the techniques and methods for measuring the distances and masses of stars and galaxies

Indicative reading list

Marc Kutner, Astronomy: a Physical perspective, CUP.

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

Knowledge of mathematics and physics. Skills in modelling, reasoning, thinking.

Transferable skills

Analytical, communication, problem-solving, self-study