Building blocks of astronomy

In this course, we learn the basics of astronomy by exploring our own solar system and nearest neighbouring stars and planets. Since antiquity, astronomers have observed the motions of the planets in our solar system, but it is only in the last century that satellite and robotic missions have taken us to explore these planets first hand. We will discuss why Pluto is no longer classified as a planet, and what astronomers have learned from the hundreds of new objects discovered in the icy periphery of our solar system.

Beyond our solar system, hundreds of new planets are discovered each year. We look at the theories of how stars and planets form and explore the different types of star formation that take place in nebulas in our solar neighbourhood. We will discuss the discovery of planets outside our solar system, and how our theories of star and planet formation change as astronomers discover planets around stars other than our Sun. We also examine some of the basic techniques used to find new planets around the closest stellar neighbours in our universe. Finally, we will discuss how common planets are around other stars, and how astronomers ascertain how likely it might be that life might exist on other planets.

Learning outcomes

1. To understand the basic techniques and methodology astronomers use to study planets, stars and beyond;
2. To gain a broader perspective of our universe and how the Earth and our solar system fit into it;
3. To better understand astronomy-related popular news articles and why they are newsworthy.