Where to Begin with Self-Studying Astrophysics?

  • Thread starter Thread starter cakesama
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Astrophysics
AI Thread Summary
A postgraduate student in pure mathematics is interested in self-studying astrophysics but lacks recent physics education. It is suggested that studying undergraduate-level physics first is beneficial, especially if the goal is to pursue astrophysics academically or professionally. For casual study, "An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics" by Carroll and Ostlie is recommended as a suitable resource. The student acknowledges the need to balance this self-study with their current academic commitments. Overall, foundational physics knowledge is essential for serious engagement with astrophysics.
cakesama
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Hi

I'm currently a postgraduate student doing pure maths, and I'm quite interested in self-studying astrophysics!

If you do physics or know something that can be of help, could you please suggest me some reading materials?

oh and I haven't studied physics after getting out of high school, so I was guessed maybe I should study undergraduate level physics first, before going into astrphysics?

any help would be appreciated~

Thanks
 
Physics news on Phys.org
What do you plan to do with this self-study? If it's just for fun (and you won't be trying to solve any problems) then you don't really need much physics. A good advanced-undergrad level reference/text without many problems is Carrol & Ostlie's Introduction to Modern Astrophysics. But if you're hoping to study it in college in the future, or try to get a job in astrophysics, then yes, you're going to need at least an undergraduate-level physics education to get anywhere.
 
At the moment it's definitely for fun, not sure if I'll try to get into it properly after I get my masters degree in maths. Guess I'll have to study some undergrad physics as well in my spare time, thanks for the reply~
 
An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by carroll Ostlie is a good place to start
 
I guess I should have read the other replies before responding. Then I would have seen it has already been recommended. sorry
 
I'm going to make this one quick since I have little time. Background: Throughout my life I have always done good in Math. I almost always received 90%+, and received easily upwards of 95% when I took normal-level HS Math courses. When I took Grade 9 "De-Streamed" Math (All students must take "De-Streamed" in Canada), I initially had 98% until I got very sick and my mark had dropped to 95%. The Physics teachers and Math teachers talked about me as if I were some sort of genius. Then, an...
Bit Britain-specific but I was wondering, what's the best path to take for A-Levels out of the following (I know Y10 seems a bit early to be thinking about A-levels, but my choice will impact what I do this year/ in y11) I (almost) definitely want to do physics at University - so keep that in mind... The subjects that I'm almost definitely going to take are Maths, Further Maths and Physics, and I'm taking a fast track programme which means that I'll be taking AS computer science at the end...
After a year of thought, I decided to adjust my ratio for applying the US/EU(+UK) schools. I mostly focused on the US schools before, but things are getting complex and I found out that Europe is also a good place to study. I found some institutes that have professors with similar interests. But gaining the information is much harder than US schools (like you have to contact professors in advance etc). For your information, I have B.S. in engineering (low GPA: 3.2/4.0) in Asia - one SCI...

Similar threads

Replies
6
Views
1K
Replies
29
Views
3K
Replies
10
Views
2K
Replies
102
Views
5K
Replies
16
Views
2K
Replies
14
Views
3K
Back
Top