How the fundamentals of astrophysics explain galaxies

The fundamentals of astrophysics means using physics and chemistry to study astronomical objects and phenomena, including the universe. The lessons answer how physics explains galaxies and the universe, helping readers understand how physical processes shape astronomical systems. They move through observational and theoretical approaches, galaxy formation and evolution, and the universe's contents and expansion.

3 articles, 1 book · about 3 hr of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   the fundamentals of astrophysics · Wikipedia · 17 min read

   Spectrum is light decomposed into its component colors, where dark lines mark regions with less or no light. William Hyde Wollaston and Joseph von Fraunhofer independently found dark lines in the Sun's spectrum; by 1860, Gustav Kirchhoff and chemist Robert Bunsen showed that the lines matched bright lines from known gases, helping physics explain the Sun and stars. In the fundamentals of astrophysics, radio astronomy studies radiation with a wavelength greater than a few millimeters. Studying these waves requires very large radio telescopes. Theoretical astronomy uses mathematical and computational tools to model and predict the motions of astronomical objects. In astronomy curriculum, it is used in conjunction with observational techniques, and unpaired, the field would not be considered a science.

2. Read
   Galaxy Formation and Evolution. · pages.astro.umd.edu · 60+ min read

   Initial and boundary conditions is the starting setup for how galaxies form and evolve. Galaxy formation and evolution involve these conditions and the physical processes that drive evolution, and can be thought of as an application of relatively well-known physics with cosmological conditions.

3. Read
   

   Charting the universe in 3D · Astronomy Magazine · 5 min read

   In astrophysics, dark energy makes up about 69 percent of the universe, dark matter accounts for another 26 percent and visible, or normal, matter makes up 5 percent. As the universe expands, more dark energy pops into existence, driving its expansion even faster.

4. Book
   

   Astrophysics for People in a Hurry · Bookshop.org

   Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson is a collection of his essays from Natural History magazine, centering on basic questions about the universe.

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