Stars and Galaxies
All but a handful of the objects you see in the night sky are stars in our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Although we know about these stars only from studying their light, we know today that they are not just points of light, but large, gravitationally‐bound balls of plasma governed by the laws of physics. Stars, together with dust, gas, and dark matter, are found in larger structures – galaxies. In turn, galaxies, are located in even larger structures called galaxy groups and galaxy clusters. In this course, we will study the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies and, through this study, gain insight into how the large scale structure of the universe has changed since its formation nearly 14 billion years ago.
Textbooks: The Cosmic Perspective (7th Edition or 8th Edition) by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit
Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy (4th Edition) by Prather, Slater, Adams, & Brissenden
The planned schedule for the course is given below. Note that the “Problem Sets” column will be updated with the most recent problem sets as the term goes on.
Current quiz equation sheet (last updated: 11/28/23)
| Week of | Topic | Reading | Problem Sets |
| Sept. 4 | Foundations | Appendix C, Ch. 1 | Problem Set 1 |
| Sept. 11 | [Missed Week] | ||
| Sept. 18 | Scales & Measuring Light | Ch. 1, Ch. 5 | Problem Set 2 |
| Sept. 25 | Measuring Light + The Sun and Other Stars | Ch. 5, Ch. 15 | Problem Set 3 |
| Oct. 2 | The Sun & Other Stars | Ch. 14 & 15 | |
| Oct. 9 | Solar Fusion and Stellar Evolution | Ch. 14, 15, & 17 | Problem Set 4 |
| Oct. 16 | Stellar Evolution & Star Death | Ch. 17 & 18 | |
| Oct. 23 | Star Death & Stellar Recycling (no class Monday) | Ch. 18 | Problem Set 5 |
| Oct. 30 | The Milky Way (no class Thursday) | Ch. 19 | Problem Set 6 |
| Nov. 6 | The Milky Way and Galaxy Morphology | Ch. 19, 20 & 21 | |
| Nov. 13 | Galaxy Morphology & Nearby Galaxies | Ch. 20, & 5 | Problem Set 7 |
| Nov. 20 | Dark Matter (no class Thursday) | Ch. 23 | Problem Set 8 |
| Nov. 27 | Galaxy Environment/Evolution and AGN | Ch 21 | |
| Dec. 4 | Cosmology | Ch. 20.2 – 20.3 | Problem Set 9 |
| Dec. 11 | Cosmology and Fate of the Universe | Ch. 22 & 23 |
