Overview

This unit aims to develop a conceptual understanding of the Universe and our place in it, with a broad overview of how astronomical observations and data analysis inform that understanding.

Requisites

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
04-August-2025
02-November-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-August-2025
Census date
31-August-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
19-September-2025
Results released date
09-December-2025
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
03-August-2026
01-November-2026
Last self-enrolment date
16-August-2026
Census date
01-September-2026
Last withdraw without fail date
22-September-2026
Results released date
08-December-2026

Unit learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  1. Describe our place in the Universe using a historical context
  2. Use basic physical laws to describe the motion of celestial bodies in the Universe
  3. Identify astronomical objects such as stars, planets and galaxies, and current areas of astronomical research
  4. Analyse modern observing techniques, and different telescope design for different wavelength regimes
  5. Make and interpret measurements from modern astronomical datasets
  6. Apply and adapt basic techniques for computation and data analysis in a Python environment to illustrate and describe astronomical systems and processes.

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On-campus
Lecture		 2.00  12 weeks  24
On-campus
Class		 2.00  10 weeks  20
On-campus
Lab		 3 2 weeks  6
Online
Learning activities		 1.00  12 weeks  12
Unspecified Activities
Independent Learning		 7.33  12 weeks  88
TOTAL     150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Assignment Individual  15 - 25%  1,2,3,4
Examination Individual  40 - 50%  1,2,3,4,5 
Report Individual/Group  20 - 40% 2,3,4,5,6

Hurdle

As the minimum requirements of assessment to pass a unit and meet all ULOs to a minimum standard, an undergraduate student must have achieved:

(i) an aggregate mark of 50% or more, and
(ii) at least 40% in the final exam.

Students who do not successfully achieve hurdle requirement (ii) will receive a maximum of 45% as the total mark for the unit.

Content

  • Our place in the Cosmos: History of astronomy, observing the night sky, the scale of the Universe, basic laws of physics
  • Observational Astronomy: The electromagnetic spectrum, telescopes and observing techniques
  • Introduction to Python with applications to Astronomy
  • The Solar Neighbourhood and beyond: The Sun and the planets, minor planets asteroids and comets, other worlds
  • The Birth, Life and Death of Stars: Stellar nurseries, the evolution of stars, creation of the elements, the end products of stars, black holes, neutron stars
  • Galaxies and cosmology: Our galaxy the Milky Way, the early Universe, growth of structure, galaxy formation and evolution, the Big Bang and the fate of the Universe
  • Life in the Universe: Life on Earth and in the Solar System, conditions for life, the search for life in the Universe, SETI

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.