S382 - Introduction to Astrophysics and Cosmology

There are five main chapters to this document – one each to introduce the astronomy and planetary science, the cosmology and the physics background,plus two chapters of mathematics. It is important to note that, because most of this document revisits concepts and phenomena that are covered in detail in Level 2 Open University modules, the treatment here is much less rigorous than in the modules themselves. For the most part, the subjects covered here are merely presented to you rather than developed gradually through detailed argument. This is to enable you to get rapidly ‘to the point’ and appreciate the key information you need in order to understand what follows, and to allow you to progress quickly to the main substance of the Level 3 modules .