The study of the stars has been fascinating for scientists for many centuries, and new discoveries today cause as much excitement for astronomers as they did thousands of years ago. It also captures the imagination of the public and astronomy and astrophysics are seldom far from the news headlines.
The picture below shows the transit of Venus across the Sun on Tuesday 8th June 2004.
You will have to wait until 2247 for it to happen again. You will be long gone but your great....great grandchildren might see it (if it isn't cloudy).
Astronomy and astrophysics are based on sound physics principles that apply in the here and now on Earth every bit as much as they do in space. Newton's and Keppler's Laws explained the movement of astronomical objects and are valid three hundred years later.
| Topic 1 | Lenses and Refracting Telescopes | ||
| Topic 2 | Reflecting Telescopes | ||
| Topic 3 | Radio Telescopes | ||
| Topic 4 | Classification of Stars | ||
| Topic 5 | Life and Death of a Star | ||
| Topic 6 | Cosmology | ||
| Home | Physics A2 | ||