Minor in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Includes Radio and Space Science

This is the first ever minor in this subject in Bangladesh and we want to make it as widely available to IUB students as possible. The minor is open to everyone, but specially suited to the students of CSE, EEE and Physical Sciences, that is the students belonging to SETS. The minor has a mixture of observational and computational astronomy, radio instrumentation, space science and more mathematically rigorous theoretical astrophysics. One course (AST 201) focuses on observational astronomy and includes taking pictures of the sky using an optical telescope and analyzing the resulting data. Two courses (AST 410 & PHY 434) focus on radio astronomy, radio communication and space science and technology. The remaining two courses (AST 301 & PHY 402) are about theoretical astrophysics where the physical processes controlling some astronomical objects will be introduced. All courses will have strong emphasis on programming (à la CSE) and include design-based projects (à la EEE).

You will see a list of 12 courses in iRAs, but actually only 5 from these 12 are being offered for the first phase of this minor. So sorry to say that, as of now the minor does not offer any elective courses, all 5 courses are mandatory.

In order to see what you will do (not learn, but do!) in each course check the list of courses below. But here are some motivational points. You should take this unique and unifying minor for any or all of the following reasons.

  1. Building a career in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, radio instrumentation, satellite communication or space science.
  2. Enchance your CV for graduate school applications. Students of physics, mathematics, CSE, EEE, all can benefit from such a minor while applying for international graduate schools.
  3. Enhance your CV for job applications in industries that focus on mathematical and statistical analysis, python programming, data science and/or engineering design.
  4. Develop and/or improve your skills in using python for solving practical scientific problems. Remember, a background of CSE is further enhanced if you can show your ability to use computing for solving real-world problems.
  5. Develop and/or improve your skills in designing an engineering-scientific project. All 5 courses include doing a project. If you are from engineering, you will particularly like the engineering design aspects.
  6. By writing a report for the project in each course, you will learn how to write a scientific paper with publishable figures and results.
  7. After completing the minor, you will be eligible to participate in the research projects of COALab some of which could lead to publications in international journals and conferences.

List of Courses

Click on the titles to see course outlines (under construction)

  • AST 201: Introduction to Astronomy

    3 credits | Prerequisite: PHY 101 & MAT 104 or PHY 111 & MAT 111

    Topics: Overall structure of the universe in 4 dimensions, Measuring directions using coordinate systems and time using clocks, Measuring large distances, Basics of light and telescopes at different wavelengths, Detectors of light, Uncertainty, Digital image processing, Photometry, Spectroscopy.

    Project: Taking image of astronomical objects using an optical telescope and process the image in python to extract geometric information.

  • AST 301: Introduction to Astrophysics

    3 credits | Prerequisite: PHY 101 & MAT 104 or PHY 111 & MAT 111

    Topics: Stars and their spectral classification, Interior structure of a star, Building mathematical models of stars, Birth and evolution of stars, Stellar pulsation, Fate of stars of different masses, White dwarf and neutron stars, General relativity and black holes.

    Project: Simulating a star on a computer using python and the equations of stellar structure.

  • PHY 402: Cosmology

    3 credits | Prerequisite: PHY 101 & MAT 104 or PHY 111 & MAT 111

    Topics: Newtonian gravity, Geometry of the universe, Cosmological models, Cosmological observations, Cosmological constants, Age of the universe, Cosmic microwave background, The early universe, Big bang nucleosynthesis, Inflation, Dark ages, Cosmic dawn, Epoch of reionization.

    Project: Simulating the distribution of matter in the universe by creating maps of hydrogen using semi-numerical simulation software in python.

  • AST 410: Radio Astronomy

    3 credits | Prerequisite: PHY 101 & MAT 104 or PHY 111 & MAT 111

    Topics: Radio waves, Radio wave propagation, Radio signal transmission and reception, Radiometer, Single-dish radio telescope, Radio interferometry, Aperture synthesis, Modern radio telescope arrays, Calibrating and cleaning radio observations in visibility space, Producing radio images of the sky, Milky Way and other galaxies, Universe in radio.

    Project: Simulate a large radio telescope array using python and produce realistic mock observations of the universe in radio.

  • PHY 434: Atmospheric and Space Physics

    3 credits | Prerequisite: PHY 101 & MAT 104 or PHY 111 & MAT 111

    Topics: History of solar system exploration, Physics of space plasma, Sun and its activities, prominences and flares, Solar wind and its propagation in the solar system and beyond, Ionospheres and Magnetospheres of different planets, Orbital dynamics, Spacecraft design and deployment, Space telescopes, X-ray observatories.

    Project: Design an x-ray space observatory and its rocket and analyze x-ray telescope data using python.