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 (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.
Latest Equation Sheet for Quizzes (updated: 5/3/26)
| Week of | Topic | Reading | Problem Sets |
| Feb. 16 | Foundations | Appendix C, Ch. 1 | Problem Set 1 |
| Feb. 23 | Star Formation, The Sun, & Light | Ch. 16.1, Ch. 14.1-14.2, Ch. 5 | Problem Set 2 |
| Mar. 2 | Light (cont.) | Ch. 5 | |
| Mar. 9 | Surveying the Stars (no class Thursday) | Ch. 15 | Problem Set 3 |
| Mar. 16 | Stellar Structure & Evolution | Ch. 15 – 17 | Problem Set 4 |
| Mar. 23 | Stellar Evolution & Death | Ch. 17 | Problem Set 5 |
| Mar. 30 | Stellar Remnants & Recycling | Ch. 18 – 19 | |
| Apr. 6 | The Milky Way (no class Monday) | Ch. 19 | Problem Set 6 |
| Apr. 13 | The Milky Way and Local Universe | Ch. 19 & 20 | |
| Apr. 20 | Galaxy Types | Ch. 20 | |
| Apr. 27 | Galaxy Distances and Dark Matter | Ch. 20, 5, 23 | Problem Set 7 |
| May 4 | Galaxy Interactions & AGN | Ch. 21 | Problem Set 8 |
| May 11 | Cosmology & Dark Energy | Ch 20.2 – 20.3, 23 | Problem Set 9 |
| May 18 | Cosmology and the Fate of the Universe | Ch. 20 & 22 | |
| May 25 | The End and the Beginning Final Quiz Information |
