- #1
mace2
- 101
- 0
Hi everyone. I'm currently in the second semester of my second year, doing a combined degree in physics and astronomy.
I really love physics, and have no doubt I will continue in that direction. However, I've always been interested in astronomy outside of school... So it seemed like the natural direction to take by combining my degree with astronomy. I took my first "real" (i.e. scientific) astronomy course last semester. Ultimately, I didn't find it that interesting. I felt like I was learning mostly techniques for finding distances, measuring parallax, yadda yadda. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I enjoy learning about the quantization of light in physics and all these fundamental concepts about flux and fields, and whatnot. In astronomy I'm just worried it's going to be a lot of techniques that I learn. I was hoping to be surprised by what I would learn in astronomy, like I am in physics.
I think I might regret it if I drop the astronomy portion of my degree, but I'm not convinced particularly why. I am interested in cosmology but it seems like I will only get a chance to learn much about that in 4th year. I am also not convinced I would enjoy working in an observatory. I am in co-op so I might have that opportunity before I graduate, but I'd like to make decisions about what I study now.
I have all of my electives for my degree so I am just taking essential courses. I just don't want to --in 4th year-- realize that astronomy is never what I hoped, and I'm just studying how gases float around and things like that. I want to learn about black holes and neutron stars and all those 'unusual' things.
If anyone has input I would much appreciate it. I apologize if this isn't very coherent!
P.S. I am also a bit put-off by the fact the labs in astronomy are kinda... well, data analysis or viewing through telescopes. I like playing with real things, like in physics labs.
I really love physics, and have no doubt I will continue in that direction. However, I've always been interested in astronomy outside of school... So it seemed like the natural direction to take by combining my degree with astronomy. I took my first "real" (i.e. scientific) astronomy course last semester. Ultimately, I didn't find it that interesting. I felt like I was learning mostly techniques for finding distances, measuring parallax, yadda yadda. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I enjoy learning about the quantization of light in physics and all these fundamental concepts about flux and fields, and whatnot. In astronomy I'm just worried it's going to be a lot of techniques that I learn. I was hoping to be surprised by what I would learn in astronomy, like I am in physics.
I think I might regret it if I drop the astronomy portion of my degree, but I'm not convinced particularly why. I am interested in cosmology but it seems like I will only get a chance to learn much about that in 4th year. I am also not convinced I would enjoy working in an observatory. I am in co-op so I might have that opportunity before I graduate, but I'd like to make decisions about what I study now.
I have all of my electives for my degree so I am just taking essential courses. I just don't want to --in 4th year-- realize that astronomy is never what I hoped, and I'm just studying how gases float around and things like that. I want to learn about black holes and neutron stars and all those 'unusual' things.
If anyone has input I would much appreciate it. I apologize if this isn't very coherent!
P.S. I am also a bit put-off by the fact the labs in astronomy are kinda... well, data analysis or viewing through telescopes. I like playing with real things, like in physics labs.