Postgraduate SWI-AST80006-2023

Galaxies and their Place in the Universe

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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$2,980 $3,230

Your upfront cost: $0

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Duration

13 weeks

Study method

100% Online

Available loans

FEE-HELP

Assessments

100% online

Prior study

Not required

Start dates

28 Aug 2023

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Times Higher Education Ranking 2023

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2023

Subject details

What you'll learn

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

Topics covered

- 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

Entry requirements

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: