Unit 1
Astronomy, an Observational Science: Introduction – Indian and Western Astronomy – Aryabhatta – Tycho Brahe’s observations of the heavens – The laws of planetary motion – Measuring the astronomical unit – Isaac Newton and his Universal Law of Gravity – Derivation of Kepler’s third law – The Sun – The formation of the solar system – Overall properties of the Sun – The Sun’s total energy output – Black body radiation and the sun’s surface temperature – The Fraunhofer lines in the solar spectrum and the composition of the sun – Nuclear fusion – The proton– proton cycle – The solar neutrino problem – The solar atmosphere: photosphere, chromosphere and corona – Coronium – The solar wind- The sunspot cycle – Solar The Planets – Planetary orbits – Orbital inclination – Secondary atmospheres – The evolution of the earth’s atmosphere.
Unit 2
Observational Astronomy
Observing the Universe – The classic Newtonian telescope – The Cassegrain telescope – Catadioptric telescopes – The Schmidt camera – The Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope – The Maksutov–Cassegrain telescope – Active and adaptive optics – Some significant optical telescopes – Gemini North and South telescopes – The Keck telescopes – The South Africa Large Telescope (SALT) – The Very Large Telescope (VLT) – The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) – The future of optical astronomy – Radio telescopes – The feed and low noise amplifier system – Radio receivers – Telescope designs – Large fixed dishes – Telescope arrays – Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) – The future of radio astronomy – Observing in other wavebands – Infrared – Sub-millimetre wavelengths – The Spitzer space telescope – Ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma-ray observatories – Observing the universe without using electromagnetic radiation – Cosmic rays – Gravitational waves.
