Whether online or in-person, Education Unlimited proudly offers top-tier curriculum in our Astrophysics program!
- To learn more about our online program, click here.
- For more information about the in-person program please read below
Beginning from the cosmic chaos, astrophysics will delineate the foundation goals of the field by tracing the evolution of the universe from its origins through to modern times and probing into its future fate.
Students will delve into the depths of the cosmos to push their understanding to the very frontier of the unknown, and perchance beyond that! Students embarking on this adventure will be introduced to the wave-particle duality of light, radiation, and stellar evolution, illuminating their curiosities in the process. They will then explore advanced topics in cosmology such as supermassive black holes, spacetime fabric, and mapping the large-scale structure of the cosmos. Studies will culminate with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
The curriculum is supported by computational simulations of dark matter and galactic formation, physical demonstration, student-led discussions, and thought experiments. Observational astronomy will be interlaced into the course using solar and night sky observational telescopes, focusing on techniques for identifying the constellations and naked-eye astronomy. Students will pursue their final research in a self-selected specification of interest. Projects vary but are all relevant to modern professional research and exploration, such as observational astrophysics, astro-particle physics, or physical cosmology. Their final research projects will incorporate real data from working telescopes and research laboratories.
The high school course covers various topics in modern astrophysics, both conceptually and mathematically. While students are expected to cover approximately 100 pages of the student manual, mastery of every topic is not necessary. Grades are not given in this class, allowing students to focus on what they are ready for now and leave room for future exploration. They are encouraged to repeat the class in subsequent summers to deepen their understanding further.
The curriculum covers the celestial sphere, the scale of thKey topics covered in the curriculum include the celestial sphere, the scale of the universe, blackbody radiation, energy quantization, the photoelectric effect, wave properties of matter and electron diffraction, stellar colors, distances, absolute/relative magnitudes, spectral lines/spectral types, the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, redshift, cosmic microwave background, stellar dynamics, stellar evolution, lifetime consequences of gravitational collapse, introduction to cosmology, spacetime fabric, spacetime and relativity, black holes, and cosmology.
As a culmination of their learning, students will complete a cumulative research project of their choice for their final presentation. Projects may involve using publicly available live data from satellites to verify the theories covered in the course or coding computer programs that calculate distances to galaxies. The goal is to provide hands-on experience and reinforce the practical applications of astrophysics concepts.