Intro to Astrophysics [1]: The Life of Stars

For students entering Grades 8, 9, 10 in 2021-22

Astronomy is often referred to as the oldest science. Interestingly it is still one of the most exciting fields of science and it captures the imagination of scientists as well as young students.

In this course, we will choose topics carefully that will give a deep insight into some key areas of the subject. We will avoid difficult mathematical machinery needed to fully understand these topics, but  the students will need to have prior familiarity with basic physics ideas, such as force and motion, Newton's laws, energy, gravitational force, and ideas about temperature and pressure.

The course is offered in two parts of four sessions each- Astrophysics I and II. Students can attend either Astrophysics I, or Astrophysics II, or both.

In Astrophysics I, we will focus on understanding many different but related aspects of a star. How do we know about the properties of a star, its mass, the energy it radiates, its size, its temperature and connections between these. We will also discuss how we know about stars; answers to questions such as how far away they are; whether they are moving towards or away from us. We will discuss the birth and death of stars as well.

At the end of attending Intro to Astrophysics I and/ or Intro to Astrophysics II , the students will have a far deeper qualitative understanding of these topics and their interrelatedness.

Learn more about this course through the course facilitator's blog post.