This course is designed for students who learn about modern astrophysics. It covers:

1) The greatest unsolved mysteries of the universe, including dark matter, dark energy, quasars and life in space.

2) Exoplanets – how they are discovered, their properties and how they are challenging our understanding of solar systems.

3) The Violent universe – white dwarfs, neutron stars, special relativity and black holes.

4) Cosmology – the Big Bang, nature of space and time, observational cosmology, Inflation, entropy of the universe and ultimate fate of the universe.

You do not need any prior knowledge of astronomy to take this course.

The course will assume that you have a maths and science background equivalent to school year 10, because this course is designed to take you well beyond the level of popular science books, TV shows and web pages.

This course is delivered entirely online.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Describe and explain the key issues in modern astrophysics.
2. Be able to analyse and interpret astronomical data, including images, spectra, data tables and charts.
3. Use physics and maths, including energy balance and circular motion, to estimate and explain a wide variety of astronomical phenomena
4. Be able to apply the techniques in this course to solve problem in unfamiliar contexts.