Astronomy 335 - Astrophysics II

How do astronomers determine the nature and extent of the universe? Centering around the theme of the "Cosmic Distance Ladder," we explore how astrophysics has expanded our comprehension to encompass the entire universe. Topics include: the size of the solar system; parallactic and spectroscopic distances of stars; star counts and the structure of our galaxy; Cepheid variables and the distances of galaxies; the Hubble Law and large-scale structure in the universe; quasars and the Lyman-Alpha Forest.

Prereq: ASTR-228.