Overview

This unit aims to provide an introduction to galaxies and galaxy clustering, theories of dark matter, galaxy formation and evolution.

Requisites

Teaching Periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Study Period 1
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
26-February-2024
26-May-2024
Last self-enrolment date
10-March-2024
Census date
18-March-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
12-April-2024
Results released date
18-June-2024

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Identify the “big questions” in galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and recognise the current state of our knowledge on these questions
  • Explain the concepts of galaxy formation and evolution
  • Describe the way galaxies are classified and select the approaches used to discover their properties
  • Discuss the basic principles and concepts about our and other galaxies, their properties and their constituents in a non-technical way understandable to the wider public
  • Formulate solutions to problems in galactic and extragalactic astronomy
  • Assessing current knowledge using credible sources of astronomical information and research articles

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
Online
Learning activities
4.62 13 week 60
Unspecified Activities
Independent Learning
6.92 13 week 90
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
EssayGroup 40 - 60% 
NewsgroupsIndividual 20 - 30% 1,2,3,4 
Online TestsIndividual 20 - 30% 1,2,3,5 

Content

  • The Milky Way: structure, rotation curves and dark matter, origin
  • The structure and classification of normal galaxies: Hubble's classification
  • Estimating distances: standard candles, sizes and masses, redshifts
  • Galactic structures: the Local Group, dark matter in clusters, superclusters and voids
  • Star formation: measuring rates and evolution
  • Quasars and active galaxies: host galaxies, unified active galactic nuclei model, black holes, gravitational lensing
  • Interacting galaxies, galactic cannibalism and mergers
  • Galaxy formation and evolution, fluctuations and galaxy seeds, N-body simulations, Cold Dark Matter
  • First stars and galaxies: the dark ages, Population III, galaxies and quasars at high redshift
  • Quasar absorbers, evolution of gas in the Universe, the intergalactic medium

Study resources

Reading materials

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