Astronomy

Duration

30h Th, 10h Pr, 20h Mon. WS

Number of credits

Lecturer

Marc-Antoine Dupret

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The first part of this course is dedicated to classical astronomy. After a brief survey of the history of astronomy, the problems of the position of stars on the celestial sphere is discussed and different coordinate systems are introduced. Diurnal and annual movements are then analyzed with a special emphasis on the seasons. Different time definitions are introduced and a brief history of the calendars is presented.
The second part addresses the internal structure and the evolution of stars. After a discussion of the contraints given by the observations, such as the luminosity, the surface temperature, the mass and the chemical composition, the main equations describing the internal structure are presented. A special emphasis is given to the nuclear rections, inparticular those governing hydrogen burning and helium burning.
The third part consists in a description of the extragalactic universe. The Hubble law is presented and discussed together with simple cosmological models.
Finally, a last part of the course concerns internal geophysics (seismic probe, magnetism, plates tectonic) and external geophysics (atmosphere structure, greenhouse effect, ozone problem, ...).

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

This course aims at giving the students basic notions of their astronomical environment in order to help them understand the Earth and stellar motions, the different time definitions, the structure of the stars and of the Universe.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Basic knowledges in physics and mechanics are essential. Elementary mathematical notions are needed, such as trigonometric relations. Spherical trigonometry is discussed in the cursus. All physical laws required in the course are briefly discussed.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The exercices are organised as sessions of 2h30.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

The course is given the first semester (2 times 2h30 / week), including the exercise sessions.

Recommended or required readings

A syllabus is available. All the ppt data sets are accessible online : http://www.astro.ulg.ac.be/~dupret

Assessment methods and criteria

An oral (theory) and written (exercises) exam is organised during the january session.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Contacts

Marc-Antoine Dupret email: MA.Dupret@ulg.ac.be address: Institut d'Astrophysique et Géophysique, bât. B5c, +1 Tél: 04 366 97 32