MOOC

Introduction to Astrophysics

Description

How can we study the Universe we live in using the only available information it provides us with: light ?

This course provides an overview of the physical phenomena at play in the astronomical objects surrounding us, from planets and stars to the cosmic filaments, from galaxies such as our own Milky Way to large galaxy clusters. The course emphasizes the links between theoretical predictions and observations.

In this course, you will learn the basics of astrophysics using simplified mathematical developments. In particular, you will learn the role played by gravity in astrophysics, including gravitational lensing, and how matter and radiation interact. The material in this course is essential to follow more advanced astrophysics courses.

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Description

How can we study the Universe we live in using the only available information it provides us with: light ?

About this result

Lectures in this MOOC (50)

Introduction to Astrophysics: Stellar Evolution MOOC: Introduction to Astrophysics

Covers stellar evolution, fusion processes, and the age of stellar clusters, emphasizing gas pressures and star evolution based on mass.

Light Absorption in Nebulae MOOC: Introduction to Astrophysics

Explores the size of nebulae, ionization, light absorption, and celestial body colors in astrophysics.

Stellar Evolution: Life and Death of Stars MOOC: Introduction to Astrophysics

Explores the birth, life, and death of stars, including fusion processes and white dwarf formation.

Hubble's Observations: Redshift and Distance MOOC: Introduction to Astrophysics

Explores Hubble's observations of the early universe, redshift, cepheid stars, and type Ia supernovae.

Hubble's Universe: Redshift and Distance MOOC: Introduction to Astrophysics

Delves into the universe's evolution using Hubble's observations and concepts like redshift, distance measurement, Cepheid stars, and supernovae.

Related concepts (32)

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, meteoroid, asteroid, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Accretion (astrophysics)

In astrophysics, accretion is the accumulation of particles into a massive object by gravitationally attracting more matter, typically gaseous matter, in an accretion disk. Most astronomical objects, such as galaxies, stars, and planets, are formed by accretion processes. The accretion model that Earth and the other terrestrial planets formed from meteoric material was proposed in 1944 by Otto Schmidt, followed by the protoplanet theory of William McCrea (1960) and finally the capture theory of Michael Woolfson.

Cosmology

Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term cosmology was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's Glossographia, and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher Christian Wolff, in Cosmologia Generalis. Religious or mythological cosmology is a body of beliefs based on mythological, religious, and esoteric literature and traditions of creation myths and eschatology. In the science of astronomy, cosmology is concerned with the study of the chronology of the universe.