Astrophysics Session 1

When the sun runs out of fuel, will it explode in a giant supernova or fade into a white dwarf? Does every galaxy revolve around a supermassive black hole? Will the universe keep expanding or eventually collapse upon itself? Astrophysics—the study of the physical laws governing astronomical objects and the universe—is key to determining how the universe started, how it works, and where it’s headed. In this course, you and your classmates will learn about scale and distances between planets, stars, and galaxies. You’ll explore stellar evolution; the birth, life, and death of stars and their inner workings; and consider how objects such as neutron stars and black holes are formed. You’ll investigate galaxies, including the Milky Way, comparing their shapes, compositions, and rotational speeds, and calculate distances to other galaxies using Hubble’s Law. Lastly, you’ll explore topics in modern cosmology, such as the Big Bang and inflationary universe hypotheses, and consider the ultimate fate of the universe.