Faculty of Arts & Sciences

Never be lost again! Find your way on sea, land, or air by employing celestial and terrestrial techniques. Acquire expertise in using navigators' tools (sextant, compass, and charts) while learning the steps to the celestial dance of the sun, moon, stars, and planets. This 108-year-old course continues to rely on practical skills and collaborative problem-solving, while utilizing historical artifacts (instruments, maps, captains' logs) and student-built devices. Culminating in a day-long cruise to practice navigation skills.

This course provides an introduction to the physical principles describing galaxies and the composition and evolution of the Universe. Topics include the interstellar medium; star clusters; the structure and dynamics of the Milky Way; other galaxies; clusters of galaxies; active galaxies and quasars; cosmology; and the early universe. This course includes an observational component: In addition to observing galaxies with the Science Center Clay Telescope, students will use the millimeter-wavelength telescope at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics to measure the rotation velocity of the Milky Way galaxy and to determine its mass.

This tutorial introduces students to research at the forefront of astrophysics, and provides opportunities for students to meet with research scientists and individuals active in science policy, education, and journalism. Students meet weekly for a lecture and discussion over dinner with a guest speaker, preceded by a reading and a preparatory seminar. Students will be mentored throughout the term on a research project of their choosing. The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is home to one of the largest groups of astronomers in the world, providing extensive opportunities for undergraduate research.

In this course we will learn the basic tools of modern astronomical research, including telescopes, detectors, imaging, spectroscopy, and common software. Emphasis will be placed on both the theory behind telescopes and their use, and hands-on experience with real data. Using this basic knowledge we will analyze science-level astronomical data from a wide range of telescopes and review the basic properties of stars, galaxies, and other astronomical objects of interest. The course includes a trip to the F. L. Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona, to gather data with various telescopes.

The physical model describing the initial conditions, evolution, and ultimate fate of the Universe. Topics include cosmic dynamics; the Robertson-Walker Metric; curvature; estimating cosmological parameters; the accelerating universe; dark matter; gravitational lensing; the cosmic microwave background; nucleosynthesis; inflation and the very early universe; formation of structure. Note: Offered in alternate years.

This course offers an introduction to order-of-magnitude estimation, as applied to astrophysical systems. Emphasis will be placed on research triage---how to decide which theoretical and observational ideas merit in depth exploration. Example topics include diffusion and viscosity; material properties; gas drag; collisional dynamics; radiative and non-radiative cooling mechanisms; the structure of astrophysical disks; and turbulence.

Laboratory and observational projects in astrophysics. Students design and undertake two projects from a selection including: observational studies of the cosmic microwave background radiation, molecules in interstellar clouds, the rotation of the galaxy, galactic molecular sources with the submillimeter array (SMA), stars and clusters with the Clay Telescope; and laboratory experiments including super-conducting submillimeter detectors, x-ray CCDs, and hard x-ray imaging detectors and telescopes.

This course offers a survey of radiative processes of astrophysical importance from radio waves to gamma rays. Topics include thermal and non-thermal processes, including bremsstrahlung, synchrotron radiation, and Compton scattering; radiation in plasmas; atomic and molecular spectra.

The interstellar medium (ISM) is the reservoir of gas and dust between stars. It is the nursery of new stars and planets, and the depository of energy and material from stellar winds and supernovae. This course will treat the often extreme physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium under its observed range of temperatures, densities, and radiation fields. It will cover the processes that govern the interactions between the ISM, stars and their host galaxies, including star and planet formation, and feedback from stellar deaths. The observational and laboratory methods and results that underpin the theories of interstellar environments will be highlighted.

The cosmological principle: isotropy and homogeneity, cosmological world models, thermal history of the Big Bang, the microwave background, inflation, growth of density fluctuations, large scale structure and other topics at the frontiers of cosmology.

Historical development; diffraction theory of antennas and interferometers; signal detection and measurement techniques. Thermal, synchrotron and spectral-line emission in the context of radio observations of the sun, planets, pulsars, masers, hydrogen clouds, molecular clouds, ionized regions, active galaxies, quasars, and the cosmic background. Observational projects and laboratory exercises carried out with the Submillimeter Array, Haystack Observatory and the CMB Laboratory.

he primary goal of this course is to familiarize consumers of astronomical data with the fundamental physical principles that underlie the instruments that they use to gather data, as well as provide insight into the engineering constraints that bound the capabilities of available instruments. Topics will include first order optical design principles, the design of telescopes, cameras and spectrographs, as well as basic optical engineering principles and computer aided design.

This course provides an introduction to plasma physics and plasma processes in an astrophysical context. Topics include charged particle motions, kinetic theory, magnetohydrodynamics, waves, instabilities, dynamos, shocks, particle acceleration, and magnetic reconnection. Specific applications may include solar and stellar coronae (including flares), interplanetary space plasmas, magnetized accretion disks, cosmic rays, galactic dynamos, and interstellar turbulence.

Each week two speakers (faculty, lecturers, and students) will report on current research in astronomy, providing students with an opportunity to practice the organization and presentation of technical material. A minimum of one presentation will be expected from each student each year focused on their own research or new results in the literature. Faculty will similarly discuss recent results from the literature, as well as their own research as a way to provide an overview of research activities at the Harvard Astronomy Department. The course is intended as an opportunity for substantive discussion, as an opportunity to find out about research activities, and to foster interaction between the students and faculty.