FY537: Fundamental Astronomy

Ingen

The course requires thermodynamics and mathematics from the first year of physical education or equivalent, while relevant nuclear physics, nuclear physics, particle physics etc. will be introduced along the way.

At the end of the course, the student will have basic knowledge of the physics of stars, planetary systems, galaxies and the universe as a whole. The course contains basic concepts of the Solar System, star formation and evolution, galaxies and cosmology as well as modern astrophysics observation techniques.

The course builds on the knowledge acquired in the courses thermodynamics and mathematics from the first year of the physics education or equivalent and provides a basis for the courses mentioned above that are placed later in the education.

In relation to the competence profile of the degree it is the explicit focus of the course to:

• Provide research-based knowledge of physics' basic theories and experimental methods as well as selected current topics in recent physics research.
• Provide knowledge of key scientific theoretical topics and the safety aspects of laboratory work.
• Provide knowledge of the history of physics and science and their interface with modern technology.
• Furthermore, to study physical phenomena theoretically and / or experimentally and extract the fundamental physical aspects of a given problem and independently analyze this quantitatively and on that basis isolate the basic mechanisms and the significant physical interactions.
• Assess theoretical and practical issues and apply relevant analysis and solution models and make and justify professionally related decisions and can describe, formulate and communicate issues and results to peers as well as non-specialists, partners and users.
• Understand that the approach to the subject's central topics and methods is independent of national boundaries.

The learning objectives of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:

• Explain the structure of the Solar System and its components.
• Explain the similarities and differences between the Solar System and planetary systems around other stars.
• Explain stellar properties and key elements of star formation and stellar evolution.
• Explain the overall structure and dynamics of the Milky Way and other galaxies.
• Explain modern cosmological models and evidence that support the Big Bang theory.

The following main topics are contained in the course, the Solar System, Stellar evolution, galaxies, cosmology and observational methods in astrophysics.

Fundamental Astronomy, Karttunen et. al., sixth edition, Springer.
See itslearning for additional syllabus lists and additional literature references.

At the faculty of science, teaching is organized after the three-phase model ie. intro, training and study phase.
The teaching consists of one to two weekly lectures and two weekly tutorial hours. The students use the knowledge they have gained in the lectures during the two weeks to prepare solutions to assignments that have been put on Itslearning (study phase). The calculations and more details on the topics are discussed by all the students and the teacher in the tutorial classes. The teaching focuses on experiments in addition to the thorough theoretical foundation.

• Intro phase (lectures) - 54 hours
• Training phase: 32 hours, including 24 hours tutorials and 8 hours laboratory
  

The course will include some short project courses where the students will need computers. MATLAB or similar can be used for the projects.

Transitional arrangements describe how a course replaces another course when changes are made to the course of study.