ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before each class session begins.
In this class Philip Hughes will lead us through the science that lets astronomers explore a Universe so vast that light from the most distant objects seen today began its journey before the Sun and Earth had formed. We will start by introducing Kepler's Laws, which enable us to map the Solar System, and to "weigh" the objects within it. The same approach allows us to "weigh" stars. Philip will then show how the light from stars holds the secret of their composition and structure, providing new tools for calculating the distance to remote galaxies: the so-called "distance ladder." The final item in our toolbox is the Doppler effect, enabling us to measure the speed with which objects approach, or recede from, Earth. Pulling all this together enables us to build a picture of the Universe – from the Big Bang to the formation of planets, stars and galaxies – and to predict its ultimate fate! Philip Hughes teaches in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on the high-energy particles and magnetic fields in the jets of plasma associated with supermassive black holes in galaxies.
