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DISCOVERING ASTRONOMY

PHYS08039; Semester 1; 20 credits; Level 8

An accessible Astronomy course for everyone!  

• How and when did the Universe begin, and what is it made of?

• How do galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve over billions of years?

• What are black holes and how can you spot them?

• Why are the Sun and Solar System the way they are?

Discovering Astronomy aims to provide you with the answers to these questions and more! The course offers a complete tour of the Universe covering such topics as: the Solar System, star and planet formation, extra-solar planets, stellar evolution, black holes, galaxies, cosmology, and the Big Bang.  While the course uses no mathematics more complicated than simple algebra and trigonometry, it is recommended (but not essential!) that you have studied Higher or GCSE Maths.

Discovering Astronomy is delivered through lectures, tutorials and practical workshops. The tutorials offer you a chance to work on question sheets while the workshops will have you apply the lecture material to a variety of problems, e.g. calculating the mass of Jupiter from its moons’ orbits or deriving the properties of extra-solar planets.  Assessment is 2/3 final exam, 1/3 coursework.

https://path.is.ed.ac.uk/courses/PHYS08039_SV1_SEM1