Learning Astrophysics: What to Know First?

[natio]

Hey All,

I want to start looking into learning Astrophysics. However, before doing that I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on what one should learn first before stepping into Astrophysics. Would learning the basics of physics make it easier to understand Astrophysics?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[Astronuc]

There is a lot of basic physics which forms the foundation of astrophysics.

I would recommend browsing some programs in astrophysics to get a general idea of the topics. See for example - http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/astro/astcon.html#astcon

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/kepler.html

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/orbit.html#orbcon

and

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/index.html

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/index.html

 

[George Jones]

What is your background in math and physics?

 

[Jack21222]

Here is a link to the program requirements at the school I'm transferring to next year.

http://www.towson.edu/physics/physics/PHYS_ASTRO.asp

So, it all depends on how deeply you want to understand astrophysics. To understand it at the level of an undergrad degree, you see you'd need a lot of physics courses, including several upper division courses such as quantum mechanics.

If you want just a brief overview without having any kind of deep understanding, the basic physics will be useful, but you really should go a bit further in than just the basics.