Introduction to Autumn Astronomy

A course of five lectures in astronomy by Dr. Adrian Jannetta, on Saturdays from 11 am to 12 noon via Zoom.

This course for beginners has a mix of theory and practical advice for stargazing. It will provide a solid foundation for understanding a wide range of topics in astronomy and astrophysics. Along with interesting theoretical topics each week there will be advice about observing stars and planets in the evening sky too.

Week 1 Nov 11th / “Exploring Our Cosmic Neighbourhood: The Solar System”

Introduction to the Solar System: A brief history.The Sun: Its importance and characteristics.Inner Planets vs. Outer Planets: Brief descriptions and unique characteristics.Dwarf Planets, Moons, and Asteroids: The lesser-known bodies.Comets and the Kuiper Belt.The Oort Cloud and the edge of the Solar System.

Week 2 Nov 18th / “Eyes on the Sky: Telescopes and Observational Astronomy”

History of the Telescope: From Galileo to Modern times.Basic Principles: How telescopes work.Types of Telescopes: Refractors vs. Reflectors, Radio, Infrared, UV, and X-Ray telescopes.Major Observatories and their Contributions: Hubble, James Webb, ALMA, and others.Amateur Astronomy: Getting started with your own telescope.The role of satellites in modern astronomy.The future of telescopes: The next generation of space and ground-based observatories.

Week 3 Nov 25th / “Navigating the Night Sky: Stars and Constellations”

The life cycle of a star: From birth to death.Different types of stars: Dwarfs, giants, supergiants, neutron stars, and black holes.Constellations: Stories in the stars.How to locate major constellations in the night sky.Deep Sky Objects: Nebulas, galaxies, and star clusters.The Milky Way: Our home galaxy.The importance of dark skies and protection from light pollution.

Week 4 Dec 2nd / “Frontiers of the Cosmos: Recent Advances in Astronomy and Astrophysics”

Exoplanets: The search for other worlds.Black Holes: Recent images and groundbreaking discoveries.Gravitational Waves: The new messengers from the cosmos.Dark Matter and Dark Energy: The mysteries of the universe.Cosmic Microwave Background: Echoes from the Big Bang.Multi-messenger Astronomy: Combining data from different types of astronomical observations.The possibilities of extraterrestrial life: SETI and beyond.

Week 5 Dec 9th / “The Fabric of Reality: Space, Time, and the Universe”

Introduction to Space and Time: The concepts of spacetime.Einstein’s Relativity: General and special relativity explained.Time dilation and length contraction.Black holes and the warping of spacetime.The Big Bang and the expansion of the universe.The shape and fate of the universe: From Big Crunch to Heat Death.Wormholes, multiverses, and the boundaries of our current understanding.

This course will be delivered via Zoom. If you haven’t used Zoom before, please go to www.zoom.us and look at the tutorials. Once you have booked, you will find the Zoom invitation in the Online Event Page on Eventbrite. You will also receive an email with the invitation 24 hours before the event. If you can’t find the invitation, please email berwickea@gmail.com.

If you book this course online, we will hold your personal data in accordance with our privacy policy. If you do not wish us to hold your personal data, please book by post (see www.berwickea.co.uk) and do not supply an email address.