Enrolments for 2018 have closed.
Exploring Stars and the Milky Way
Postgraduate | SWI-AST80004 | 2018
Course information for 2018 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Revolve around the Milky Way and classify stars. Illuminate stellar lifecycles from the birth of dazzling white dwarfs to fading red giants. Get deeply topical. Discuss dark matter and raise awareness of modern theory. Map out an astronomical topic.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Part of a degree
- Duration
- 13 weeks
FEE-HELP available
Exploring Stars and the Milky Way
About this subject
At the completion of this subject students will be able to:
- appreciate and understand the way stars are classified and the approaches used to discover their properties
- understand the principles involved in the life cycle of stars, from protostar to stellar remnants
- communicate the basic principles and concepts about our Galaxy and its constituents (stars, protostars, stellar remnants, gas clouds, dark matter) in a non-technical way understandable to the wider public
- perceive the limits of our understanding of our place in the Galaxy, including an awareness of the place of dark matter in modern astronomical theories
- research an astronomy topic in depth, using dependable sources of astronomical information on the internet.
- The bulk properties and structure of the Sun
- Distance, magnitudes, colours and luminosity of stars
- Spectral lines and spectral types of the stars
- The interstellar medium and the birth of stars
- The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and the ZAMS
- Life on the main sequence, lifetime and mass-luminosity relations
- Evolution of a solar mass star: red giants, planetary nebulae and white dwarfs
- Variable stars
- Supernovae, supernovae remnants and creation of the elements
- End products: neutron stars, pulsars, black holes
- Gamma ray bursts: observations and theory
- Binary star systems, open clusters and globular clusters
- The structure of the Milky Way, the galactic centre, dark matter
This subject aims to provide an introduction to the birth, life and death of stars and the structure of our Galaxy. The emphasis is on conceptual astronomy rather than mathematical techniques.
- Assignment (30%)
- Test (20%)
- Essay (20%)
- Project (30%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
To enrol in this subject, you must be admitted into a degree.
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
SWI-HET603 (Not currently available)
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.