This course is designed for students who wish to study modern astrophysics at a high level and who have a desire to gain a deep understanding of the universe and its evolution, at a level beyond a standard that may be offered through a unit in the Physics courses at years 11 and 12.  International students are not able to enrol in this course.

Topics covered in year 11 will include;

•    The main time, length and mass scales in astronomy
•    The application of Newtons laws in astrophysics
•    The first stars in the universe
•    Supernovae, black holes and the death of stars
•    The formation stars and planets
•    Methods for finding new planets and conclusions that can be drawn from them
•    Planetary climates and thermodynamics
•    Life in space – philosophical arguments about its existence and nature
•    The use of graphical methods to display astrophysical data
•    An introduction to statistical techniques used in astrophysics
•    
Topics covered in year 12 include
•    The origins of electromagnetic radiation and the various categories of electromagnetic radiation
•    The very early universe, from the era of inflation to the microwave background
•    The expanding universe, and evidence for the Big Bang
•    Dark matter: the evidence for it, alternative theories and its possible nature.
•    Dark Energy, the evidence for it, alternative theories and its possible nature.
•    The information base on which an interpretation and description of the universe depends
•    The science required to interpret the information gathered to describe the universe, to include general relativity
•    The acquisition of data concerning the universe
•    The use of information technology to process large data sets
•    The use of statistical techniques to analyse large data sets
 

This is Part B of a 2 part course.