Lectures:

They will be posted as we go along.

 

Lecture 1: Astronomy as a science

    Some history. Astronomy as a quantitative science, and as a branch of physics. Types of observations and their intrinsic limitations.
  • Slides (pdf)
  • Video
  • Supplementary readings:
    • Newtonian gravity, Kepler's laws. sec. 1.2, 1.3; Fraknoi sec. 2.2, 2.4

 

Lecture 2: Starting the exploration

    Units, distances, and parallaxes. Celestial coordinates, time systems. Telescopes.
  • Slides (pdf)
  • Video
  • Supplementary readings:
    • Lang 1.3, 1.5-1.7, 1.10; Karttunen 2.3-2.5, 2.7, 2.8, 2.13, 2.14

 

Lecture 3: Telescopes and detectors for multimessenger astronomy

    Basic optics. Adaptive optics. Radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray telescopes. Cosmic ray, neutrino, and gravitational wave observatories. Modern digital detectors.

 

Lecture 4: Electromagnetic radiation processes

    Spectra, Kirchoff's laws, atomic transitions. Blackbody radiation. Non-thermal mechanisms. Magnitudes and fluxes.
  • Slides (pdf)
  • Video
  • Supplementary readings:
    • Lang 2.2, 2.4, 2.6; Karttunen 4.2-4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 5.6-5.9