Galaxies and their Place in the Universe
PostgraduateSWI-AST800062025
Gravitate towards galaxies and reveal the theory of dark matter. Chart the universe in depth and navigate structures from dwarf stars to voids. Discover the gravity of galactic clusters. Unearth how first galaxies are formed, evolve and change.
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- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Part of a degree
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Start dates
- 3 Mar 2025
- Loan available
- FEE-HELP available
Galaxies and their Place in the Universe
About this subject
Students who successfully complete this subject will be able to:
- Identify the “big questions” in galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and recognise the current state of our knowledge on these questions
- Explain and summarise the concepts of galaxy formation and evolution
- Distinguish the way galaxies are classified and differentiate the approaches used to discover their properties
- Appraise and state the basic principles and concepts about our and other galaxies, their properties and their constituents in a non-technical way understandable to the wider public
- Use problem solving skills to explain and synthesise solutions to problems in galactic and extragalactic astronomy
- Design and create an essay on an astronomy topic, assessing and critiquing current knowledge, using credible sources of astronomical information and research articles
- The Milky Way: structure, rotation curves and dark matter, spiral arms & density wave theory, galactic centre, modelling the origin of the Milky Way
- The structure and classification of normal galaxies: spiral, elliptical & irregular galaxies, Hubble's classification
- Estimating galactic distances: standard candles, sizes and masses, redshifts & Hubble's Law
- Galactic structures: the Local Group, dwarf galaxies, dark matter in clusters, superclusters & voids
- Star formation: measuring rates and evolution, techniques and relationships
- Quasars and active galaxies: host galaxies, radio and Seyfert galaxies, unified active galactic nuclei model, black holes, gravitational lensing
- Interacting galaxies, galactic cannibalism & mergers, starburst galaxies, modelling galaxy interactions
- Galaxy formation and evolution, fluctuations and galaxy seeds, Jeans mass, N-body simulations, Cold Dark Matter
- The first stars & galaxies: the dark ages, Population III stars, galaxies & quasars at high redshift, the evolution of clusters, faint blue galaxies
- Quasar absorbers, evolution of gas in the Universe, the intergalactic medium
This subject aims to provide an introduction to galaxies and galaxy clustering, theories of dark matter, galaxy formation and evolution.
- Essay (50%)
- Newsgroups (30%)
- Test (20%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
Part of a degree
To enrol in this subject you must be accepted into one of the following degrees:
Core
- SWI-AST-GCE-2025 - Graduate Certificate of Science (Astronomy)
Elective
- OUA-PSU-GCE-2025 - Postgraduate Single Subjects
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-HET624 (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.
Related degrees
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
Graduate Certificate of Science (Astronomy)
PostgraduateSWI-AST-GCE
PostgraduateOUA-PSU-GCE