ASTRONOMY, PART 2

In this module, students gain a comprehension of the following:

• Stellar evolution – how stars form, about the different layers that stars like the sun have, what stars’ eventual fates are, and how to classify stars using the seven major spectral classes.
• Hertzsprung-Russell Diagrams, a major tool used in stellar classification.
• What galaxies are and the basics of galactic evolution.
• Edwin Hubble’s basic galaxy classification system to classify galaxies.
• The Milky Way, our Local Group of galaxies and galactic clusters and superclusters, including the Laniakea supercluster to which we belong.
• To appreciate the immensity of the universe and the exceptional abilities of space-based telescopes, Hubble Deep Field, and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field.
• The efforts made by scientists to find life in our solar system and planets around other stars.
• The field of astrobiology and the concept of exoplanets.
• Relevant case studies to astrobiology in our solar system are highlighted: Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
• Direct and indirect methods scientists use to detect exoplanets, including astrometric methods, radial velocity methods, and transit methods.
• Space-time and its properties as described by Einstein, as well as the interstellar medium and what it contains.
• Theories of dark energy and dark matter, as well as the evidence that supports both ideas. 
• A basic introduction to elementary particles and the Higgs field, as well as the cosmic microwave background radiation that permeates the universe.
• Some of the more exotic and difficult-to-comprehend objects in space, including supernovae, white dwarfs and planetary nebulae, brown dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars, quasars, and black holes. What they are, how they form, and their significance.
• The “life” of the universe – the Big Bang Theory and major pieces of evidence for it, with a particular focus on common misconceptions and misinterpretations that exist.
• The expansion of the universe and the acceleration of its expansion, followed by a consideration of the possible “fates” of the universe with a focus on the most likely – heat death.
• The idea of a multiverse and examine why some scientists think this is a possible reality.