Astronomy
The Solar System, stars and galaxies
In this course you will learn to observe the sky and understand what you see: from the Sun and the planets to the Moon, comets, stars, galaxies and the Universe as a whole. In every lesson you solve problems with real numbers, explore interactive models and check yourself with a short quiz.
12 lessons4 modules≈ 3.6 hGrades 5–11BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedUniversity
Course content
13 lessons
The Sun and the planets
BeginnerThe history of astronomy, the structure and energy of the Sun, and the planets of the Solar System.
- 1What is astronomy? A short historyFind out what astronomy studies, how our picture of the world changed from Ptolemy to Newton, and learn about Nasir al-Din al-Tusi’s Maragha observatory and the Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory.Grades 5–612 min
- 2The Sun — our nearest starLearn how the Sun is built, how nuclear fusion produces its energy, and what sunspots and the solar wind are.Grades 5–613 min
- 3Planets of the Solar SystemMeet the eight planets: tell the terrestrial planets from the giant planets and compare their distances and sizes.Grades 5–614 min
22 lessons
The Moon and small bodies
IntermediateMoon phases, tides and eclipses, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets and meteors.
- 4The Moon: phases, tides and eclipsesFind out why the Moon’s phases change, how the Moon causes tides in the oceans, and when solar and lunar eclipses happen.Grades 6–715 min
- 5Dwarf planets, asteroids, comets and meteorsLearn why Pluto is a dwarf planet, where asteroids and comets live, and what “shooting stars” really are.Grades 6–714 min
33 lessons
Stars, galaxies and space exploration
AdvancedThe life of stars, the Milky Way and the expanding Universe, and humanity’s journey into space.
- 6Stars: brightness, colour and life cycleLearn how the brightness of stars is measured, how their colour reveals their temperature, and how a star travels from a nebula to a white dwarf, a neutron star or a black hole.Grades 9–1016 min
- 7Galaxies and the UniverseLearn what a light-year is, how our Milky Way galaxy is built, which types of galaxies exist, and how we know the Universe is expanding since the Big Bang.Grades 10–1116 min
- 8Space explorationFrom the first satellite and Gagarin’s flight to the Moon landing, the International Space Station, the Hubble and James Webb telescopes, Mars rovers and Azerbaijan’s satellite Azerspace-1.Grades 9–1015 min
44 lessons
Astrophysics (university level)
UniversityCelestial mechanics, telescopes and spectroscopy, stellar physics and cosmology — with full formulas and worked problems.
- 9Celestial mechanics: Kepler’s laws and cosmic velocitiesWrite Kepler’s laws in mathematical form, derive them from Newton’s law of gravitation, and calculate the Sun’s mass, orbital and escape velocities and the height of a geostationary orbit.25 min
- 10Telescopes and spectroscopyCalculate a telescope’s light-gathering power, resolving limit and magnification; use spectra to find what stars are made of and the Doppler effect to measure their speeds.25 min
- 11Stellar astrophysics: luminosity, magnitudes and the Hertzsprung–Russell diagramUse Wien’s and the Stefan–Boltzmann laws to find the temperature, size and luminosity of stars; find distances with parallax, magnitudes and the distance modulus; read the H–R diagram.25 min
- 12Cosmology: redshift, Hubble’s law, dark matter and dark energyUse redshift and Hubble’s law to estimate distances to galaxies and the age of the Universe; learn the Friedmann equation and critical density, the cosmic microwave background, and the evidence for dark matter and dark energy.25 min