Modern Astronomy Course: The Lives of Stars

Astronomy. Reach for the stars.

COVID-19 update: arrangement of our courses

We are now delivering courses online and in-person. Please check the delivery format of each class before enrolling.

Please note that course materials (excluding prescribed texts) are shared electronically within 48 hours of course commencement. Printing is not available.

This astronomy course will provide you with the context to understand current astronomical research, such as the recent exciting announcement of the detection of gravitational waves from coalescing black holes.

Through a series of lectures, demonstrations and the extraordinary images flowing from telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope, we will build a picture of each stage in the life cycle of a star.

Born in the interstellar gas clouds, stars enjoy a long maturity controlled by the mysteries of quantum mechanics, before dying, sometimes quietly and sometimes with unbelievable violence.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• describe the nature of stars and how they work
• appreciate how quantum mechanics governs the behaviour of stars
• describe the theories for the formation of stars and their solar systems, and the life cycle of stars
• identify the origin of the elements
• identify how astronomers use observations to construct theories of the universe
• put new discoveries, such as gravitational waves, into the context of current astronomical knowledge.

Content

Star types

We begin with a review of some basic concepts, then take a tour around the various types of stars.

Atoms and quantum mechanics: Introduction

We take a look at the smallest constituents of matter; as we will see, the strange realm of quantum mechanics and subatomic particles governs the behaviour of stars

What makes a star?

We look at how stars work, and what keeps them shining

The sun, a typical star

We compare what we’ve learned so far with observations of the star we can study best: our own Sun.

Star formation

We look at how stars form out of the giant interstellar gas clouds.

Stellar evolution

We look at what happens when stars run out of fuel, and examine the massive changes stars go through at the end of their lives.

Supernovae

We look at the violent ways that (some) stars end their lives; along the way, we discover the answer to how the heaviest elements are formed.

Stellar graveyards: White dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes

We look at the end products of stellar evolution: the remnants which are left behind.

Binaries

Most stars have at least one companion; we look at how binary star systems work.

The latest news

We cover various topics of recent interest.

Intended audience

Anyone wanting to know more about the universe.

Prerequisites

None

Delivery style

Delivered online via the platform Zoom through a series of lectures, demonstrations and detailed course notes. There is plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion.

Materials

Any course materials are provided electronically.