The recent detection of gravity waves from merging black holes and neutron stars means that light, or more generally, electromagnetic radiation, is no longer the only means we have to explore our universe. But it is still the most important. Light brings us information about its source, gives us a yardstick for measuring distances as well as giving us the unique advantage of being able to look back in time as we look deep into space. With today’s telescopes we can examine the universe the way it was, when it was about 1/20th of its present age. Our earliest view of the universe is the so called microwave background radiation, recently studied by the Planck satellite, which reveals the conditions in our universe when it was about 270,000 years old and 1/1000 its present size.
Although there are many details still to be understood, this is a good time to review what we know. We can tell the story of the evolution of the Universe from when it was a fraction of a second old to the present day and even look into the future.
This double course of 9 lectures and a visit to the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy, starts with an overview of the contents of our Universe from the point of view of an astronomer. This shows that our Universe contains not just the familiar, planets, stars and galaxies, but that clusters of galaxies are immersed in giant haloes of gas so hot they emit X rays, as well as haloes of mysterious dark matter, that outweighs all other matter. On the very largest scale the evolution of the universe is dominated by the even stranger vacuum energy, about which we know even less.
Closer to home, we will see how stars manufacture all the elements that make up our bodies and everything we see around us. Recent observations of gravitational waves from merging neutron stars, suggest that some of these elements such as gold are made during these events.
We will then take a closer look at our own star, the Sun, and see how it works and how it influences our climate. From there we will tour the planets in our solar system and see the great variety of landscapes they offer, as well as how we think they were formed. Despite our solar system being one third of the age of the universe, it is still an active environment, with comets and asteroid collisions that occasionally have serious consequences for our Earth.
Finally, we will consider the possibility that we might be the only conscious observers of our Universe. If this is true it may have a bearing on how we see and even manage our own future.
Learning outcomes
- To have a deeper understanding of the world around us;
- To better understand media reports of new astronomical discoveries;
- To have a broader perspective on our own significance and possible future, within the context of the Universe.
