Duration
20h Th, 10h Pr
Number of credits
| Master in space sciences, research focus | 3 crédits | |||
| Master in space sciences, professional focus | 3 crédits |
Lecturer
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Introduction to the understanding of our universe beyond our galaxy, the Milky Way. The lecture is divided in different sections:
- Cosmology and the evolution of the universe
- Distance scale and universe expansion
- Formation and properties of galaxies
- Active galactic nuclei
- Clusters and groups of galaxies
- Strong gravitational lensing
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
- To be able to summarize all the main phases in the evolution of the universe from the big bang to the present day.
- Understand how astrophysicists measure distances in the universe and their relationship with H0.
- Recognize and associate the different observables (photometric, morphological and spectroscopic) of galaxies with the physical processes guiding their formation and evolution (star formation rates, feedback, mergers...).
- Be able to distinguish between different types of AGN and associate observables with different emission mechanisms.
- Be able to explain how galaxy clusters form and how we observe them.
- Understand what gravitational lensing is, and be able to explain its applications in detail.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Astrophysics (SPAT0033-1)
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
- Exercises are offered to students after each chapter. The purpose of these exercises is to illustrate in a more concrete way some of the important points covered during the theoretical lecture.
- Students will be asked to read and present a scientific article (to be chosen from a list proposed by the teacher or motivated by the student with the teacher's approval) covering a topical issue. The aim is twofold: 1) to delve deeper into an area studied in class; 2) to familiarize themselves with the scientific literature in the field and learn to identify the main and secondary results.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
In-person teaching, 3h lectures in 2nd semester
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
A copy of the Powerpoint files is available.
The lecture is mostly based on the following two text-books:
- Schneider "Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology" (Springer, 2006)
- Carroll & Ostlie "An introduction to modern astrophysics" (Pearson, 2007)
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Other : Homework assignment with presentation
Further information:
The final grade is 2/3 for the oral exam and 1/3 for the presentation of personal work.
The personal work consists of an in-depth reading of a scientific publication and a presentation to the rest of the class during one of the lectures.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Contacts
Guillaume Mahler: guillaume.mahler@uliege.be - B5c 1/11
Dominique Sluse: dsluse@uliege.be - B5c 1/10