The Grandest Tour: exploring the wonders of the Cosmos

Aims of the course

• To provide a full structure and understanding to one's learning in this subject, through a framework that gives a clear and comprehensive understanding of the relative size of objects and their relationship to one another.
• A review of the structures found in the wider universe, beyond the edge of our Milky Way galaxy, from galaxies, galaxy clusters, to the cosmic web, resulting in an understanding of our place, relationship to, and a sense of scale to the cosmos we inhabit.
• To provide a framework, in this present golden era of astronomy, within which participants may better understand the science of astronomy encountered on multimedia, and to place into context the importance of new discoveries.
• To help participants take full advantage of online resources, such as YouTube astronomy channels, audiobooks and astronomy books aimed at the general public.
• To encourage participants to attend astronomical observing opportunities and consider undertaking additional astronomy courses.

Course content overview

Assuming no prior knowledge (but students may wish to complete the 'An introduction to astronomy: exploring the wonders of our Universe' online course first, as celestial traveller's we'll obtain a step-by-step overview of this amazing cosmos, through the full-spectrum eyes of our present golden era of astronomy, as evidenced by 2019s first ever image of a black hole and the Hubble image of a quarter of a million galaxies at every stage of evolution back to 500 million years after the Big Bang. We shall undertake this part of our grand tour, starting outwards from the shoreline of our own Milky Way galaxy passing neighbouring companion galaxies in our local cluster, a small conglomeration amongst the 100,000 other nearby galaxies that compose the Laniakea Supercluster. We shall witness galaxies of all shapes and sizes, how they grow through cannibalization, and focus on that small percentage of galaxies, in which the dark heart is active, making them clearly visible across the universe. Despite the insignificant relative size in comparison to their host galaxy, there is a remarkably close and intimate relationship between the supermassive black holes that lie at the heart of all galaxies, how they appear to grow in lockstep, and how such ubiquitous objects can be used to explain the most monstrous of explosions in the cosmos, in which the birth scream of black holes, and their intergalactic death rays can sterilize vast regions of all potential life, but which provide the precious metals stored in our bank vaults. We shall trace the largest structure in the universe, the cosmic web, via it’s interconnecting filaments of clustered galaxies and gases, stretched out across the universe and separated by giant voids. A universal scaffolding formed by dark matter, down which flows the steady stream of gas that feeds the growth of galaxies, such as our own. These key building block of our cosmos have births, lives and deaths, just like that of the stars, that are their building blocks, which can be used to understand how such structure arose from the otherwise smooth universe following the Big Bang. Using the deepest observations we’ll take a census of the universe’s galactic population, and awe at how the foaminess of the universe gives way  to a homogeneous composition, known as the End of Greatness, that describes the universe on the largest scales, and which underlies our present cosmological models. So, if you truly wish to expand your horizons, and occasionally blow your mind in the process, then please join me for this one truly amazing journey.

Target audience

Non-astronomers who are captivated by the night-sky and simply wonder why?

Welcome week (Week 0)

Purpose:

• personal introductions
• introducing the course
• useful reading
• personal objectives

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, the students should have: 

• become familiar with navigating around the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and from VLE to links and back
• test your ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sort out any problems with the help of the Technology Enhanced Learning team
• learn how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
• contribute to a discussion forum to introduce yourself to other students and discuss why you are interested in the course and what you hope to get out of your studies 

Teaching week 1: The birth, life and death of galaxies

Purpose:

We show how Edwin Hubble in the 1920 expanded our cosmic horizons beyond that of the Milky Way by showing the existence and nature of other island universes, which is demonstrated today via the Hubble Deep Field image, displaying galaxies at every stage of evolution. We consider how structure first arose from the relatively smooth distribution of matter following the Big Bang birth of the universe, with the birth of galaxies through the hierarchical bottom-up model and review the observational data to support it. Through the evolution of galaxies, via the Hubble diagram, as they live and grow via cannibalization, and then die when they have exhausted their star-forming material, as observed in dead and dying galaxies, to a conclusion on their ultimate fate.

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week the students should have:

• understood that our galaxy is one of a multitude of galaxies
• comprehended a model for galaxy evolution firmly grounded in observations, with an awareness of how the birth of galaxies is moving into our observational window
• consider the different types of galaxies that exist with examples of each, with the focus on what are termed normal galaxies
• how star formation exhausts the supply of material for new stars, or how it is stripped out of galaxies, leaving galaxies to slowly die and fade

Teaching week 2: Active Galaxies - the ultra-violent universe (part 1)

Purpose: 

The focus is on the 2% of all galaxies that are termed active galaxies, and why using radiation from the full electromagnetic spectrum is required to understand their true nature. We’ll review their behaviour in varying timescales and understand the differences between the know classes of active galaxies.

Learning outcomes

By studying this week, the students should have:

• how to tell the difference between normal and active galaxies
• the requirement for observations across the full electromagnetic spectrum
• the difference between narrow and broadband spectral observations
• the observational clues to the true nature of active galaxies
• the differences between the four classes of active galaxies: Seyfert, Double-lobed Radio galaxies, Quasars and Blazars
• their high redshifts and density variation of quasars with redshift

Teaching week 3: AGN model and Gamma-Ray bursts - the ultra-violent universe (part 2)

Purpose:

Active galaxies can be hundreds of time more luminous than normal galaxies, with far more energy emitted in the higher energy end of the spectrum. We shall interpret from the data a possible source of that energy, which is a spinning supermassive black hole emitting bi-polar jets. And it is view of that source from different directions that leads us to the different classes of active galaxies. A model that proves ubiquitous across the universe and used to explain many other violent phenomena, in which the formation of a black hole is key.

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, the students should have:

• from time variability of emission from active galaxies we can determine that the source is extremely small
• review other evidence why the engine for such sources is likely a supermassive black hole, with an accretion disk responsible for the observed energies
• by classifying the various components of an active galaxies, we can combine them into a single model to explain their behaviour
• that the angle of orientation of the accretion disk and bi-polar jets that accounts for the 4 different classes that are observed
• the same model can be used to explain gamma ray bursts, which are even more energetic, and occurs at the point of creation, or merger, of black holes
• observational confirmation is provided for such a model using gravitational waves
• the danger such objects pose to potential, and existing, life, like us

Teaching week 4: Black Holes and galaxy formation

Purpose:

Black holes are often the culprit behind many of the most energetic phenomena observed in the universe and cover a vast range in sizes. They seem intimately connected with the growth of galaxies by dumping vast amounts of energy into its host galaxy, suppressing and encouraging stellar formation in waves, and thereby play a fundamental role in the formation and evolution of the universe.

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, the students should have:

• understand the full range of black hole sizes from stellar, through to supermassive
• review our understanding how they may evolve to supermassive size, but the problems this poses for observations of quasars quite early in the history of the universe
• the discovery of intermediate sized black holes, which had been missing from observational data until recently
• an understanding of supermassive black hole which lies at the heart of the Milky Way, and the evidence of its present and past activity
• future collisions of the Milky Way, first with the LMC, and then later with the Andromeda galaxy
• an understanding of the relative size of the supermassive black hole to its host galaxy yet play a dominant role in its evolution. First supressing star formation in the growth phase of the black hole, then letting it continue when it becomes quiescent
• an awareness of the total number of galaxies in the observable universe

Teaching week 5: Large scale structure in the universe

Purpose:

Multi-wavelength observations have revealed a diverse and complex universe, from different states of matter to a bewildering array of new objects and phenomena. The development of deep astronomical surveys has revealed a new level of structure, the largest known, termed the cosmic web. A structure that helps account for missing baryonic matter. And whose homogenous nature on the largest scales provides supporting evidence for modern cosmological models of the universe.

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week the students should have:

• a description of the Local Group, a galaxy cluster of which the Milky Way is a member, its size and membership
• the first catalogue of galaxy clusters, and how to determine their mass using gravitational lensing
• a description and outline of gravitational lensing
• problems with making deep sky surveys, and description of a number of surveys that have mapped the large-scale structure of the local universe
• large-scale structure in the form of clusters and super-clusters, including the Lanakea super-cluster to which the Milky Way belongs
• a description of the Great Attractor, its location and likely source of its gravitational pull
• structure on even larger scales in the form of the Cosmic Web composed of filaments and voids, and a homogeneous distribution of matter on the largest scale, in which one 200 Mpc region looks much like another
• a consideration of the origin of structure from inflated quantum fluctuations at the birth of the universe

Week 6: What Next?

• assessment of student learning
• assessment of student satisfaction
• encouragement of further study

This course is open to everyone, and you don’t need any previous knowledge or experience of the subject to attend.  

Our short courses are designed especially for adult learners who want to advance their personal or professional development. They are taught by tutors who are expert in both their subjects and in teaching students of all ages and experiences. 

Please note that all teaching is in English. You should have near-native command of the English language to get the maximum benefit from the course. 

Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours of self-study time, for example, reading materials, although this will vary from person to person. 

While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material). 

Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the VLE so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (using discussion boards etc).

Fees 

The course fee includes access to the course on our VLE, personal feedback on your work from an expert tutor, a certificate of participation (if you complete work and take part in discussions), and access to the class resources for two years after your course finishes. 

Concessions 

For more information, please see our concessions information page. 

Alison Fordham Bursary

University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education is proud to offer the Alison Fordham bursary, which is awarded to students who wish to study on one of our short online courses via our VLE, reducing the fee paid by 50%. The bursary is limited to a single award for each set of online courses. 

Application criteria:  

• applicants should set out their personal learning motivations since priority will be given to those who are returning to learning after an extended break, or have not previously engaged with fully online learning, or are seeking to use the online short course as a bridge towards undergraduate award-bearing study
• applicants who can demonstrate financial need 

For more information, please see our bursaries information page.

A certificate of participation and a digital credential will be awarded to those who contribute constructively to weekly discussions, exercises and assignments for the duration of the course.