PHYS13067  Stars & Galaxies

This course starts with our own star, the Sun and then discusses how we can measure the properties of other stars. We then establish how the various stars are born, how they live and how they die. We include different types of stars such as blue supergiants, red giants, brown dwarfs, white dwarfs, pulsars and black holes.

The Sun is only one of a hundred thousand million stars that inhabit our Galaxy, the Milky Way. We describe the Galaxy and other galaxies including those that probably have black holes at their centres. Evidence of dark matter in the Universe is presented.

Finally we consider the origin of the Universe with the Big Bang, the start of time and space. Will the expansion of the Universe continue or will it end in a big crunch? Evidence is offered.

Text: Distance Education Study Materials, Stars and Galaxies.

References: Kaufmann, W.J., Universe, Freeman, 1994. Bohm-Vitense, Introduction to Stellar Astrophysics Vol 3, Cambridge University Press, 1992. Jones, B.W., et al, Images of the Cosmos, Open University Press, 1994. Zeilik, M., et al, Introductory Astronomy & Astrophysics, 4th ed., Saunders, 1998.