ASTR 204 is the Introduction to Astrophysics class required for both astronomy and astrophysics majors and astronomy minors. This course provides a broad physical foundation to astronomy and astrophysics and serves as a prerequisite for the study of advanced topics. We will cover the physics of stars and stellar remnants, nebulae and star formation, as well as an introduction to Galactic and extragalactic astronomy and the basics of observational and theoretical cosmology.
- Enseignant: Alyssa Bulatek
Astro 341 is a laboratory class for optical observational astrophysics consisting of observing projects using the CCD camera on the 16" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (in the large dome of the Strawbridge Observatory). Data from your observations will be analyzed with either an image processing software package (AstroImageJ) or Python. A detailed observing log will be kept (and submitted) along with one sets of results written up as formal reports in the style of scientific paper and presented at the end of the semester. Various scaffolding assignments across themes related to observational astrophysics will be done by all students, used to support observational work. For a visual overview of the themes, assignments and projects see the last page.
- Enseignant: Karen Masters
- Enseignant: Paul Thorman
In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of star formation, from gravitational collapse of a molecular cloud to formation of a nuclear burning core. You will gain experience solving physical problems and developing physical insights. You will learn about physical processes and order-of-magnitude estimation techniques. This class will fill in the size scales between ISM and stars, and will have some overlap with each.
- Enseignant: Alyssa Bulatek