Physics and Astronomy

Physics and Astronomy

Astronomy Course Advice

Astronomy is the oldest science, from ancient China and classical Greece through the Renaissance, where Copernicus, Kepler and Newton made huge contributions to our knowledge and understanding of the solar system and planetary motion. But the science of astrophysics which seeks to explain the structure and evolution of the stars and other celestial objects by applying the principles of physics to interpret our observations, is little more than a century old.

Currently astronomy is undergoing huge expansion as we can now view the Universe at all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Satellites can get above the atmosphere to detect gamma rays and on the ground huge telescope arrays many kilometres across make exciting discoveries with radio waves.

Electronic detectors, known as CCDs have replaced photography for optical observations in astronomy, and this data has led to new advances in our knowledge of the Universe. 

Courses that should be incorporated in a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy are listed here.

In your first year you should include the following courses:
  • ASTR 112 Astrophysics
  • PHYS 101 Engineering Physics A: Mechanics, Waves and Thermal Physics (offered twice a year)
  • PHYS 102 Engineering Physics B: Electromagnetism, Modern Physics and ’How Things Work’(offered twice a year)
  • MATH 102 Mathematics 1A (offered twice a year)
  • MATH 103 Mathematics 1B (offered twice a year)
It is also wise to include one of the the following recommended courses.
  • MATH 170 Mathematical Modelling and Computation or
  • COSC 121 Introduction to Computer Programming (offered twice a year)

Note: It is possible to take ASTR 211 or ASTR 212 in Semester 2 of your first year of study.

Your second year courses should include the following:

Also at 200-level it is recommended to include the following....
  • PHYS 286 Analogue and Digital Electronics
  • MATH 270 Mathematical Modelling and Computation 2
Third Year courses
  • ASTR 323 Stellar Structure and Evolution or ASTR 325 The Structure and Evolution of
    Galaxies
  • ASTR 322 Theoretical and Observational Cosmology
  • ASTR 381 Advanced Experiments in Physics and Astronomy (offered twice a year)
  • At least 15 additional points of PHYS or ASTR 300-level
Also at 300-level it is recommended to include:

Honours and postgraduate
After completing your BSc you may enrol in a PGDipSc, MSc, or BSc(Hons), depending on your grades and the courses undertaken. Excellent students may do a three-year BSc(Hons) if they have direct entry to 200-level Physics and Mathematics courses.

For honours you will need:-
90 points of 300-level PHYS or ASTR courses; and 30 points of 300-level MATH courses. MATH
361, 342 and 371 are recommended. Note: students will normally be expected to have taken PHYS 311 and PHYS312. PHYS 326 is recommended

Career paths
A career in astronomy might be as a university academic, or you might work in a government funded observatory or institute. Many astronomers are also employed by the major space agencies, such as NASA and ESA. Some are also employed in public outreach programmes, such as in planetaria. 

Astronomers have a broad training in many branches of physics as well as astronomy (such as optics, atomic physics, electronics, electromagnetism and radiophysics, nuclear physics, spectroscopy) and they are also skilled in computing and in image processing. All this means that students trained in astronomy are highly employable in many areas of science, technology or computing.  

Further advice

 

Email Astronomy inquiries to:

Dr Michael Albrow, room 814, phone 364-2987 Ext. 4863
email: michael.albrow@canterbury.ac.nz

 

Head of Department

Room 710, phone 364 2404
email hod@phys.canterbury.ac.nz

or any of the lecturers concerned.