An Introduction to Astronomy

"An Introduction to Astronomy" begins on 2 October 2018: check listings in the Continuing Education web-site or brochure for enrolment information.

This astronomy course introduces you to the wonders of modern astronomy. From the Solar System to the most distant galaxies, we undertake an eye-opening journey, from how stars work to the structure of the universe itself. Through lectures and demonstrations, you will find out what astronomers know about the cosmos, and how we know it. An evening of star viewing in the Blue Mountains is included.

Course outline

Lecture	Links	PDF version	Animations	Lecture recording
1. The Universe: a guided tour We set the scene, showing where we are in the universe, and discuss how astronomers make discoveries	Lecture 1 links	IA1-intro.pdf (40 Mb)		Lecture 1
2. The Sun and planets We look at the immediate neighbourhood of the Earth, and discuss the Solar System	Lecture 2 links	IA2-solarsystem.pdf (32 Mb)	• Granulation: gran_mov27M_99_crea.mpg (472 kb) Original from http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/sun/Solar_interior/Sun_layers/Convection_zone/convection_zone.html&edu=high • Vibrating Sun: movie1.mpg (4 Mb) Original from http://solar-center.stanford.edu/singing/singing.html • Coronal loops: T171_13-21March2001_AR9373.mov (10.1 Mb) Original from http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/PAD/SOLAR/feature3.htm • Flaring region: Spurting304.mp4 (6.4 Mb) Original from http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/potw.php?v=item&id=102 • Coronal mass ejection: c3april.mpg (3.3 Mb) Original from http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ • Saturn moon ballet: moons20091217-640.mov (7 Mb) Original from http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/video/videodetails/?videoID=206	Lecture 2
3. The birth of stars and planets We discuss how stars come in to being, and what makes a star shine	Lecture 3 links	IA3-birth.pdf (16 Mb)	• Cluster collapse simulation: cluster4.avi (30.3 Mb) Original from Matthew Bate's animations • Star formation: disk.mpg (3.8 Mb) Original from Chris Tinney's home page • Moon-forming impact: anim24n.mov (2.8 Mb) Original from http://www.swri.edu/press/impact.htm • Mars impact animation: marinova_anim.gif (805 kb) Original from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11387	Lecture 3
4. The evolution of the stars We discuss what happens to a star during its lifetime, from birth to its ultimate fate	Lecture 4 links	IA4-evolution.pdf (12 Mb)		Lecture 4
5. Stellar graveyards: white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes. We discuss what is left when stars finish their lives	Lecture 5 links	IA5-graveyards.pdf (15 Mb)	• Pulsar model: pulsar.gif (208 kb) Original from http://www3.amherst.edu/~gsgreenstein/progs/animations/pulsar_beacon/ • Formation of a millisecond pulsar: millisecond.mov (9.2 Mb) Original from http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/Snazzy/Movies/millisecond.html • Binary pulsar: PulsarsCurrent320x256.mpg (3.3 Mb), PulsarsEvolution320x256.mpg (5.1 Mb) Original from http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/news/2004/doublepulsar/	Lecture 5
6. Miscellany: Binaries, clusters and variables We discuss some of the more esoteric stars	Lecture 6 links	IA6-binaries.pdf (15 Mb)	• Spectroscopic binary: spbin.mov (948 kb) Original from http://www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Movies/ • Eclipsing binary: eclipsing.gif (288 kb) Animation by HMJ • Supernova: saul_sm.qt (5.8 Mb) Original from http://www-supernova.lbl.gov/public/figures/snvidea.html • X-ray sources: bulge3.mov (1.8 Mb) Original from http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/learning_center/discover_0699.html • Cepheid variables: pulsate.mpg (536 kb) Original from • Pulsars in 47 Tuc: 47tucmovie.mpg (9.3 Mb) Original from http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/news/47Tuc/ • Cluster simulation: n12kmovie.mpg (8.3 Mb) Original from http://staff.science.uva.nl/~spz/index.html	Lecture 6 (done out of order)
7. Our galaxy: putting the pieces together We look at the whole ecosystem of stars which is our Galaxy	Lecture 7 links	IA7-milkyway.pdf (26 Mb)	• Adaptive optics: aomovie_hist.gif (538 kb) • Star motions at the galactic centre: 2011orbits_animfull.gif (639 kb) Originals from http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~ghezgroup/gc/pictures/index.shtml	Lecture 7 (done out of order)
8. Galaxies: normal galaxies to quasars We look at the ways galaxies live and evolve	Lecture 8 links	IA8-galaxies.pdf (31 Mb)	• Antennae formation: SDvision-ANTENNES_t1.avi (12.2 Mb) Original from http://irfu.cea.fr/Projets/COAST/movies_galaxies_formation.htm • Milky Way-Andromeda collision: hs-2012-20-a-640x360_xvid.avi (16.7 Mb) Original from http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2012/20/	Lecture 8
9. Cosmology: the universe as a whole We look at the origin and evolution of the Universe	Lecture 9 links	IA9-cosmology.pdf (8.8 Mb)	• Zoom of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: zoomHUDF.mp4 (10.1 Mb) Original from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le3ASDvZy_s • Millennium simulation: lcdm_color2_highres_divx.avi (11.9 Mb) Original from http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/galform/millennium/ • First stars: 030651_1280.mov (40 Mb) Original from http://wmap.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/030651/index.html • Galaxy formation: vl_form_z12to0.mpg (228 Mb) Original from http://www.ucolick.org/~diemand/vl/movies.html • Bullet cluster: DarkMatter.mp4 (12 Mb) Original from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83nv8UNFC0o2S2vjVXd2TmSQAf_QQB9_	Lecture 9
10. The next big thing(s) Modern astronomy: exoplanets, the "new astronomies", dark energy...	Lecture 10 links	IA10-LIGO-Gaia.pdf (45 Mb)		Lecture 10

Last updated 25 February 2019