Introduction to Astronomy & Astrophysics
In order to inculcate interest among the students in particular and public in general, the Innovation Hub (IH) of Regional Science Centre (RSC) Calicut organised a number of online educational programmes on various topics. One of them was ‘Introduction to Astronomy & Astrophysics’
The splendour of the night sky has been fascinating man from time immemorial. Besides the stars, of which Sun is our nearest one, the Moon and the planets greatly stirred up man’s curiosity. Imaginative mind could figure out the constellations and noticed their movements of the planets and the stars from which a mental picture of the universe gradually evolved. However, observational astronomy, the oldest of all sciences had its foundations firmly laid around 1610 A.D., when Galileo Galilee, having constructed an optical telescope himself using lenses, started scanning the sky with its aid. With his telescope, he first detected sunspots, moons of Jupiter, rings around Saturn and the like. Subsequent development of bigger and bigger telescopes, of both refracting and reflecting types, spectroscopes and improved photographic techniques over the century enriched astronomy enormously and gradually has turned out to be one of the major pursuits of our time.
An important branch of Astronomy – Astrophysics, developed subsequently. On the basis of knowledge obtained from Thermodynamics, Spectroscopy, Nuclear Physics and the like, Astrophysics could explain the evolution of stars, production mechanism of stellar energies and the mysteries behind objects like Pulsars, Quasars, Black holes, Dark energy and dark Matter. Thus, while Astronomy deals with the observational aspect of heavenly bodies, Astrophysics goes into in-depth studies and interprets observational data on the basis of physical and chemical laws. On help the growth of the other giving birth to the twin science of Astronomy – Astrophysics.
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Astronomy deals with the observational aspect of heavenly bodies, Astrophysics goes into in-depth studies and interprets observational data on the basis of physical and chemical laws. On help the growth of the other giving birth to the twin science of Astronomy – Astrophysics.
