OBSERVATIONAL COSMOLOGY

ASTRON 500

An introduction to astrophysics data collection. Students will be familiarized with the concepts, techniques, skills and resources needed to plan, obtain, reduce and interpret observations of astronomical objects.

ASTRON 730

Stellar content and dynamics of the Milky Way and other galaxies; galaxy types, evolution of normal galaxies, active nuclei, quasars, radio galaxies.

ASTRON 335

Introduction to the study of our Universe as a whole. Distribution of matter on the largest scales. Equations for cosmic expansion; making observations in an expanding curved spacetime. Nucleosynthesis and other tests of the Big Bang hypothesis. Gravitational collapse and the growth of structure.

ASTRON 465

A basic introduction into astronomical observations and data analysis techniques by undertaking observational projects with optical and radio telescopes. Topics covered include observation and data reduction, basic calibration of radio and optical telescopes, basics of data analysis and statistics, presenting scientific results, and basics of scientific ethics. Although specific to observational astrophysics, these methods are applicable to any of the physical sciences disciplines.

ASTRON 103

The cosmos is vast, mysterious, and beautiful. Join us on an exploration of the universe, from the big bang to the birth, life, and death of stars and the warped reality of black holes. Includes lifecycles of stars; supernovae and creation of elements; white dwarfs, pulsars and black holes; the Milky Way and galaxies; distances of stars and galaxies; quasars; expansion of universe; modern big bang cosmology, dark matter, dark energy.