Michigan Astronomy
Michigan Astronomy

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Teaching

ASTRO 160

This course uncovers the astrophysics behind the most important and common astronomical phenomena in our universe. A major topic is stars and their lives, which can end violently through supernova explosions, leaving behind black holes or neutron stars. This is followed by the study of the Milky Way and its content, other galaxies, and how unseen dark matter shapes the universe we see today. We conclude with the origin of the universe how we can look at an infant Universe. In this course, the professor interacts closely with the students, plus the laboratory provides practical experience, including use of our telescopes. This introductory course is intended for non-science concentrators with math and physics background, or for science concentrators who are taking or have taken freshman physics and calculus.

  • Light and radiation
  • Stars: properties and evolution
  • The Milky Way
  • Galaxies
  • Cosmology

Textbook:
Title: Astronomy: a physical perspective
Author: Marc L. Kutner

ASTRO 102

Discover the nature of stars, black holes, luminous nebulae, supernovae, galaxies, and other cosmic phenomena. In this concept-focused course you will learn what these objects are, how they formed, and what is ultimately in store for the universe. Explore the roles of light, energy, and gravity in astronomy. Learn about the sky in our planetarium and get hands-on experience with telescopes and other astronomy tools. This course is intended for non-science concentrators.

Textbook:
Title: The Cosmic Perspective: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology
Authors: Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit

ASTRO 404

In this class we move step-by-step from the Milky Way, all the way to the formation of the very first galaxies after the Big Bang. We will explore the motion of stars in the Milky Way, and understand how we can model the orbits of stars. We will the move on to the Local Group, comrising the Milky Way and its sister galaxy, Andromeda, plus many little galaxies, their court. We will study the properties of galaxies, what shapes them and makes them different to our eyes and our telescopes. We will study how galaxies tend to group together and how this structure is related to the cosmic evolution of our Universe, from tiny speckles to galaxies large more than a thousand times the Milky Way.

Textbook:
Title: Galaxies in the Universe
Authors: Sparke & Gallagher

Optional textbook:
Title: Introduction to Cosmology
Authors: Ryden