ASTR 130 Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology
A continuation of the study started in ASTR 125 of astronomical phenomena, instrumentation and methods used in astronomy, the physical laws that govern the universe, and basic mathematical and computational methods that illustrate how these investigations may be carried out. This course focuses on stellar and galactic structure, evolution and interaction: the sun as a star, solar astrophysics, stars and stellar evolution, stellar endpoints, structure, evolution, and interaction of galaxies, and cosmology (structure and evolution of the universe). This course includes night sky observation sessions. An emphasis is placed on describing "how we know what we know" about each of these objects as a way to illustrate how scientists work and how modern science is conducted.