DE2410 - Astronomy and Cosmology

Term 6

Department of Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering

University of Moratuwa

News and Announcements:

Final Exam wll have a combination of MCQ's and essay type questions. The Exam will be closed book.

 

Watch the solar eclipse video recorded by UoM team http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3MbrrixmNI

 

Lecturers:

Dr. Rohan Munasinghe, Dr. Rev. Mervyn Fernando, Dr. Kavan Ratnatunga, Prof. Thulsi Wickramasimghe

 

Grading: 70% - Final exam and 30% Practicals/Assignments

 

Videos:

powers of ten   cosmos calendar  cosmos evolution (use VLC media player to view)

 

Lectures

lec 1

History of Astronomy and Cosmology

Historical mlestones: Galileo, Kepler, Copernicus, Newton, Einstein and Hawking  

lec 2

Solar system Lecture Note

Sun and eight planets, their dynamics, comparable sizes, and nature. Rocky dwarfs and gas giants. Solar wind and auroras

lec 3

Sun Lecture Note

General facts of the Sun, its evolution and death  

lec 4

Measuring stars Lecture Note

Measuring distance, temperature, size, etc of stars. Parallax, Cepeid variables

lec 5

Stellar Evolution Lecture Note

How a star is born, evolve and end its life. Black holes, neutron stars, dwarfs

lec 6

Cosmology Lecture Note

Structure of the Universe, its origin  and end, Big-bang theory, expanding universe  

 

Lab CLasses

Lab 1 : Telescopes and Sun Observation at ENTC roof top  submit your observation sheets within a week after the session

 

Lab 3:  At Computer Lab, Dept. of ENTC. Use Stellarium Software

A. Setting up the software
1. set the location (Moratuwa), time zone (5.5h)
2. set time to 8pm and view the night sky

B. Observations
1. Identify and report the major objects visible and their positions (star patterns, moon, planets, and other objects)
2. report (if any) other objects that can be observed later in the night and in what directions (N,E,S,W)