Astronomy Definition and 805 Threads

Hello, i am deciding between a career in astronomy or astrophysics and need help. I wish to know the differences in the two careers. What do each study? what is the pay difference in Canada? Where do each work and what do they work on?

Please tell me if there are mistakes, however small, in the answers I have provided to these questions. Thank you in advance. 1. Why are pulsars not always associated with supernova remnants? Most pulsars are created by Type II supernovae, but out of all the pulsars detected yet (around...

I'd like to make a thread for those who are applying to REU programs in physics and the like this summer. Please post where you have applied, what your research interests are, and post when you hear from specific programs to help others make their decisions. Also feel free to discuss any...

Hi All! My name is bergw, I'm new here and I'm looking for some advice. I'm a software engineer in the CAD business who is dying for more interesting work! I'd really like to get back to the interests I had back from college(Astronomy) but I'm finding it difficult even finding software...

1. Photons approaching a black hole will initially a. all of the above are possible depending on distance from the event horizon b. pass by with their direction changing (bending/curving) c. fall into the black hole d. go into orbit around the black hole e. pass by without...

most good observing locations seem to be located in high-altitude, COLD, places. even though i am not at high altitude, it is still mighty cold at night here in oregon. what would you recommend for an affordable method to do basic observation where the scope is located outdoors but viewable...

I am interested in the Astronomy and Astrophysics program at the University of Toronto. How well does one need to do in high-school to get into the program? What are the required courses and what marks would be advantageous? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm a freshman in university, just finishing up my first semester (I've got 3 finals left and then I'm done). I just turned 18 last week, too. I'm in arts at the moment, but I've been thinking that I want to switch to sciences and aim for a degree in astronomy...the problems I face, however: -...

As part of my junior curriculum I'm taking a college prep course. As part of this course I am gathering a list of colleges I plan on applying to, including several safety schools. I have several schools that I am totally confident that I will be able to get in, but I wouldn't quite call them...

talks about our moon its fascinating.

Sooo I wasn't sure if I should put this here or in the astrophysics section, but I figured electrical engineering was more relevant for my question. I'm involved in a project at my university to build a (very) simple radio telescope, but I'm having a bit of trouble with the radiometer...

Hey everyone! I am new to the forum so be kind. I tried using the search function to find an answer to this question but could not dig one up. I have come to a point in my life where I need a career change I am 26 and considering a few options to shake up my life. I have long had a passion for...

Hello all, I'm a surveyor working on an Excel spreadsheet to convert FK5 positions into altitude and azimuth system. Yeah, I know there's an FK6, but one step at a time. I know it sounds simple, right. But I have to account for proper motion, precession, nutation, aberration, parallax...

Hi All, Just some quick background that may be relevant before my question: I am 29 years old and am back in school after not knowing what I wanted to after high school. Originally, I did well some terms and not so well other terms starting out, and I ended up taking a ~5year break. In my...

PhD Astronomy Prof: "Paucity of evidence for the Big Bang" an acquaintance of mine who holds a PhD in physics and teaches astronomy at a university says the is "a paucity of evidence for Big Bang theorizing". After I close my gaping mouth how should I respond?

:biggrin: I need a telescope for my astronomy class next semester :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin: and a $700 budget...having a difficult time deciding which one to get :-/

Homework Statement "Determine a surface temperature value for the Sun from the angular diameter of the Sun and the solar constant." Homework Equations L=4π(R^2)σT^4 The Attempt at a Solution At this point my only stumbling block is I don't understand the relationship between the solar...

Homework Statement I am not sure what to do with Maple. I've barely used it at all, but trying to figure out why this won't work with what I have below. Plot schematically the change in equilibrium temperature of Earth, if its albedo changes from 0.3 to 0.7 (in 0.1 jumps). Homework Equations...

I have understand that the Parallax method can be used to measure the distance to stars, but what happens when the parallax angle gets to small to be measures accurate? What kind of methods are used to measure distance to star that are like 5000 light years away, or to Superclusters that are...

What is the main reason why there are so many more stars in the Main sequence in comparison with the number of red giants?

Homework Statement I have made a solution to an exercise and I need some to check it and please notify me if I have made any misstakes. Exercise Calculate the radiation flux density of the surface of Earth from the sunlight that is reflected against the surface of Mars. As seen from the...

astronomy - conceptual, trigonometric parallax Homework Statement To determine a star's trigonometric parallax, we need at least 3 measurements of its position relative to much more distanct objects. Explain why this is true. (What else could change its position on the sky?) Homework...

Hey all, I am starting to think about colleges, it's a bit early for me (I'm entering 11th grade) but knowing which colleges I am seriously interested in would be a big help for a lot of reasons. I am absolutely sure I want to pursue a path in theoretical physics (not sure if that's the right...

Hi, I'm a senior at the University of Wisconsin and I will be applying to grad school in physics soon. I'm currently majoring in Math, Physics, Nuclear Engineering, and Astronomy. I have 6 credits left to finish my astronomy degree and I'm seriously considering not finishing it out. As it...

Hello there! First post but I figure I'll get right into it. A lot of thoughts and I'd just like to see if anyone has done or seen anything similar. In 2006 I graduated with a BA in Radio, TV, & Film. I worked as a recording engineer (my initial career goal) for a few years, decided I liked...

hi - does it matter if you do research or not in astronomy as an undergrad? is it ok to just do undergrad physics research for astronomy grad school? does it look any better to do astronomy research versus physics research as an undergrad, or any physics will do? I'm asking as a matter of...

Hi guys, I'm really interested in Astronomy related careers yet my parents want me to enter medicine due to its high pay. I'm a highly academic student and I am capable of entering medicine, however, I really want to do an astronomy/astrophysics course as I want to make a mark in the upper...

Get this, my Physics 191 book, which is basic astronomy Here's the cover. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/405/coverjgc.jpg/ Here's the side. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/543/sidee.jpg/ Someone wasn't paying attention.

First of all this is NOT for class! Secondly, this seems rather simple, so perhaps I am simply overlooking the obvious. Anyway, here goes: If some binary star is about 400 ly away, and a telescope gives a separation of 36" (0.01 degrees) for the binary, then can we use the small angle formula...

Is it possible for me to pursue Mtech in Astronomy after Btech in IT, in India? Please help

I have always been interested in astrophysics but my career took another direction and I have an MS in computer science. I wanted to go back and revive my interest. I have decent math/calculus background, ODE, PDE, numerical methods including solving PDE/ODEs, some linear algebra and...

As I understand Interferometry, a baseline does not refer to the distance between two RA scopes. It's the distance between two line of sites for each scope. They are parallel, when directed at the same object. Suppose we have two scopes at two stations that are some distance apart, say...

Homework Statement Expansion of the universe is described by the scale factor R(t), where t is the time after the Big Bang. For a flat universe the scale factor is today R(t)=C_{1}\cdot t^{\frac{2}{3}} When the Universe was radiation dominated, for t <200,000 years, the scale factor was...

I am currently a mechanical engineer student in greece.I really don't find mech eng. that interesting so i am willing( when i finish my 5 year study) to change field and study graduate astronomy.WIll i be able to do that?Also i really don't want to study again in undergraduate level.I am...

Hi, Recently, at our department we formed a research group in Astronomy and Astrophysics with a bunch of young enthusiastic undergraduates who are keen on engaging in research work. Since not much research work in Astrophysics being carried out in Sri Lanka, the students are bit disappointed...

Hello, after recently graduating high school, I'm planning on going to college soon, and I got a couple of questions regarding Astronomy and Physics. First, after recently getting interested in Astronomy, and always being interested in Physics, my question is how much is physics/mathematics...

Homework Statement in about 6X10^7 y from now, the sun will be a red giant star with a temperature 1/2 its present value and a radius 100 times larger. a) what will be the luminosity of the red giant sun be compared to its current value? b) assume that the new luminosity gives you the...

Homework Statement Hello I wanted clarification on freeman's law and the Tully fisher relationship. Am i correct to say that the tully fisher relationship that states L=kv^4 where L=luminosity of galaxy and v= max rotational speed of galaxy. only applies to edge-on spiral galaxies...

Homework Statement If at 09:30 21st may what would the RA of stars be at the zenith? I'm not sure if we can say that they are at 3.5hrs since we are in may? If a star is at RA 5hrs would at 09:30 would it be observable at 00:00. My thoughts are that you just add on 14.5 hrs to the...

Hi, I need to find an important, very recent paper in observational astronomy for a journal club presentation. It would help if it is short and easy to read :) . Could someone please suggest one to me? Thanks.

Homework Statement A double star located at a distance of 10 light years from us. The maximum angle between the stars, as seen from Earth, is 2 arcseconds. (1 arcsecond = 1 / 3600 degrees), we can assume that the stellar orbit is circular and that this angle gives us the real distance between...

Title is a little strange I know, let me explain better. I am doing my undergrad by the way. How can people, who for example are not in school for Physics/Astronomy, or don't have access to expensive telescopes, discover new things in Astronomy? For example, a while back a nine year old...

Hi, I'm looking for papers and general or specific information about the topic Astronomy in UV and X-ray Spectrum. Other than Wikipedia and Google sources, I would be interested in understanding the optical spectrum range and its limits, with respect to the materials used in this astronomy...

I want to study astronomy/astrophysics. But only two of the University of California offers astronomy or astrophysics. Would it be possible to major in physics and get a job in an astronomy related field or later get a masters in astronomy/astrophysics with a BS in physics?

Hello everyone, I am currently a freshman undergrad physics major at Stony Brook University. However, I've been having some doubts lately. I've been taking the advanced freshman physics courses last semester and this semester, and they more challenging than I expected. I'm not failing them...

Hi, I'm reading about the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation and don't understand this part ... What power does a source called with liquid helium produce and how is it related to the amplifier circuits ? I don't get what they did and why ? Thanks !

So I already graduated with a BS in Physics, but am considering applying to Astronomy grad schools. I don't have any coursework or research projects in it, but plan to start research with an Astro prof soon. As far as coursework, how necessary is it to have some when applying to Astro grad...

Homework Statement The question asks for the fraction of all 2M(sun) stars ever made in the Galaxy that are still burning on the main sequence. It assumes star formation at constant rate. The age of the Galaxy is 10GYRS To do this I imagine you use the salpeter IMF and find the constant...

Hi, I'm a high school junior and have the for as long as I can remember been interested in the sciences. In the past few years my love for science has focused in on space. I've been starting to plan for college and have been mostly looking at getting into astronomy. However, physics and...

Hello! I'm going to apply for a bachelor in a year. I haven't decided what I want to major in, but my top choices are astronomy (astrophysics) and nanotechnology (the course is called "Nanotechology, energy and materials"). I myself am more interested in the universe, space etc. I was almost...