An introduction to astronomy: exploring the wonders of our Universe

Aims of the course

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

Course content overview

In this introductory course, in order to give full justice to the cosmic wonders that surround you, we shall view the components of our island universe, the Milky Way, starting outwards from our favourite star, passing the asteroids and planets of our small corner of the Universe, and beyond into the wider stellar neighbourhood. Taking in cosmic wonders of our Galaxy along the way, from the gentle birth of stars to their cataclysmic demise, the dizzying rotations of super-dense pulsars, to the most violent of all events as we witness the birth scream of black holes.

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 

Week 1: The solar system - the search for life

Purpose:

Our solar system may be unique, both in its configuration and as a source of life. We shall study the configuration of our own solar system to better understand those around other stars, and understand what makes our planet such a hospitable place for life. We will focus on our attempts to search for life within this system, which, if chemically different from ours, then we'd know it evolved independently from us, and most importantly, we'd know life had begun more than once.

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, the students should have:

• deeper understanding of the quickly evolving field of planetary science, not just of those with worlds within our own planetary system, but the rapidly increasing number around other stars
• an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding each planet within the solar system, using the latest observations from such missions as Cassini–Huygens or New Horizons, in regards to their behaviour, properties and motions, in particular their geophysical  history
• explored the full extent of the solar system from Mercury to the Oort cloud, defining its outer limits, and understand the origin and evolution of our planetary system
• met the concept of gravitational bending and the first major test of the theory of general relativity
• understood the meaning of habitable worlds, the search for liquid water and hence why the most likely places to find life in the solar system include Europa (Jupiter) and Enceladus (Saturn)
• understood why Mars has proved so fascinating in our search for life, as it may have harboured life in a long lost congenial past
• from a sense of scale of our solar system come to appreciate both the difficulties in traversing and colonising the solar system, and why the Earth is so special

Week 2: Exoplanets

Purpose: 

• it has been compared with looking for a firefly next to a searchlight, but we shall study the detection methods used to look for exoplanets,  which only existed in hypothesis until 1992, of which we now know that our galaxy is likely to contain trillions
• however, exoplanetary solar systems look nothing like our own, and this had an impact on our planetary systems formation models
• we will also outline our continued search for life in these systems and the efforts to directly image them

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week the students should have:

• understood when and how, using both the radial velocity and transit methods, exoplanets were discovered, leading to the present torrent of new discoveries, currently standing around about 4000 exoplanets
• discussed the habitability of recently discovered exoplanets, in particular those around red dwarf stars
• comparing other planetary systems with our own, and understanding the apparent uniqueness of our own solar system, which has altered our understanding of how its present structure originated
• reviewed the search for life in other solar systems as we observe exoplanet atmospheres, and the current efforts to undertake the difficult task of directly imaging exoplanets
• understood the importance of the latest mission, such as TESS, locating planets close to home for easier study and in particular whether their surfaces are hospitable for life, and future missions, such as JWT, to study planetary atmospheres

Week 3: Stars

Purpose: 

• our galaxy is full of stars of many sizes and colours, such that stars span a range about a factor of a thousand in mass, a factor of a million in size, and a factor of a billion in power
• the Sun is one such star, providing the closest laboratory for studying a star, from which we can understand how stars actually shine
• with this understanding we'll see how stars are born and die, such that 97% of all stars end their existence as white-dwarfs, while for the massive stars, dying in the blaze of glory of a supernova, is more the exception

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week the students should have:

• understood the properties of our nearest star, the Sun, to comprehend its very dynamic and active nature, through recent missions such as SDO and Parker, and its effect on surrounding planets through the energetic solar wind and flares
• learned from stellar observations how we discerned the source of energy in stars, the nuclear fusion process and our attempts to replicate it, with all its associated difficulties, here on Earth
• comprehended the current state of hydrostatic equilibrium in which our sun exists, and its implications for its future history
• analysed the H-R diagram of luminosity against temperature from observations of many different stars, and learned how this led to a full understanding of the evolutionary history of stars through their life-cycle from birth to death
• followed the birth of a proto-star in a stellar nursery, linked this to evolving fusion history of the star and its eventual fate based on the mass of the star itself
• applied this understanding to the future history of our own Sun, and the consequences for our own planet, the Earth
• become aware that the end for the vast majority stars, including our Sun, is the white dwarf stage, while for the remaining few that meet cataclysmic ends, this includes such dangerous outcomes as supernova and black holes
• discussed the differences between nova, supernova and hypernova
• comprehended the importance of supernovas to life in the universe, and how without them we would not be here

Week 4: Milky Way

Purpose: 

• we'll investigate the size, structure and constituent parts of our island universe, the Milky Way, and see how we determine both the Sun's galactic location and the galaxies spiral nature, while located deeply within it.
• then we'll look at the sleeping monster at its heart, found possibly in all galaxies, located at the galactic centre, Sagittarius A star, and its recent attempt to grab a meal. By creating an accurate 3D-map of our quadrant of the Galaxy, allows us to study its history and evolution. We'll conclude with a look at this current period, the Age of Stars, a season for life due to the abundant stellar heat and light, which now appears to be in its very latter stages

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week the students should have:

• covered the structure and properties of the Milky Way, such as its size and shape, and how that changes when observed in a variety of different wavelengths
• comprehended the relative importance of various components that make up our galaxy, from dark matter, that forms the halo within which the visible galaxy is embedded, to stars that compose the disk and halo, gas, from which stars are formed, and dust which obscures our view through the galaxy itself
• looked at how we determine size and shape of the Milky Way from our position with it, through the observations of globular clusters that orbit the centre of our galaxy, and the emissions of gas that reveal its distribution in the form of arms
• considered the different populations of stars within the galaxy, the zone of obscuration which limits our view of the heart of our galaxy, and the giant molecular clouds which are the birth sites of stars
• understood how observations of centre of our galaxy have revealed the hidden supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the heart of the galaxy, similar to that possibly in all galaxies, and its close relationship with the evolutionary history of our galaxy despite the vast discrepancy in size between the two
• covered the relatively recent attempt by the SMBH to eat a nearby passing gas cloud, and the attempt to directly image it using the Event Horizon Telescope
• learned how we are making a 3-D map or our galaxy quadrant, deciphering its evolutionary history through the Gaia mission, as the galaxy has grown by cannibalizing other smaller galaxies over time, and improving the accuracy of the HR diagram, and hence our understanding of the evolution of stars
• understand that the present age of stars, the present phase in the evolutionary life of the universe, and how it’s coming to end, and its implications for the future history of life

Week 5: Dark Matter

Purpose: 

• 85% of all matter in the cosmos is of unknown origin, but despite that there's not inconsiderable evidence, going back to the 1930s, to show that it's real, and without it galaxies would fly-apart
• dark matter is an intrinsic part of the currently accepted paradigm for the origin and evolution of the universe, the Lambda-CDM model, and has sculpted the structure we observe in the cosmos, which would never have formed in the current time-scale of the universe without its presence
• detecting dark matter particles is a major goal, and would take physics beyond the standard model of particle physics, as the most likely explanation is a particle of unknown nature

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week the students should have:

• considered the long history, beginning in 1932, from Oort to Rubin, for the evidence of dark matter, and how observations of galaxies and galaxies clusters, through the study of velocity distributions, have required dark matter to exist if such objects are to persist
• reviewed further supporting evidence provided through observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), most directly through observations of galaxy cluster collisions using the technique of gravitational lensing, and modelling of timescales for the emergence of large-scale structure in the universe, which would be too short without the helping hand of dark matter
• in considering the nature of dark matter understand why MACHOs have been ruled out as a possible contender, and the present chase for WIMPs through various detection experiments that are presently underway, deep in underground mines and at the LHC
• looked at how dark matter may be distributed in a galaxy, the present discrepancy between models and observations, and the possible explanations to account for it

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. 

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.