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ASTR 160

Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics

Undergraduate · Historical course

Spring 2007

Topics

  • Introduction
  • Planetary Orbits
  • Our Solar System and the Pluto Problem
  • Discovering Exoplanets: Hot Jupiters
  • Planetary Transits
  • Microlensing, Astrometry and Other Methods
  • Direct Imaging of Exoplanets
  • The Kepler Mission
  • Midterm Exam 1
  • Introduction to Black Holes
  • Special and General Relativity
  • Tests of Relativity
  • Special and General Relativity (cont.)
  • Stellar Mass Black Holes
  • Stellar Mass Black Holes (cont.)
  • Pulsars
  • Supermassive Black Holes
  • Do Black Holes Spin?
  • Midterm Exam 2
  • Hubble's Law and the Big Bang
  • Hubble's Law and the Big Bang (cont.)
  • Hubble's Law and the Big Bang (cont.)
  • Omega and the End of the Universe
  • Dark Matter
  • Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe and the Big Rip
  • Supernovae
  • Other Constraints: The Cosmic Microwave Background
  • The Multiverse and Theories of Everything
  • The “Dark Ages” and the Growth of Structure
  • Detection of Gravitational Waves
  • LIGO and Observing of Gravitational Waves

Readings

  • See reading assignments for individual lectures
    Listed text
Sources