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Prospective student enquiries

The courses offered to graduate students at RSAA in 2012 are outlined below. Note that it is
strongly recommended that students who have not completed the RSAA honours program
undertake these courses.

ASTR3007: From stars to galaxies (6CP)

Taught by: Dr Amanda Karakas, Dr Stefan Keller, Dr Richard Stancliffe, A/Professor Helmut
Jerjen
Information for international
Offered in: 1st Semester 2012
students
Times: TBD
Venue: TBD
Research highlights
Syllabus: This course will introduce star formation, structure, evolution, element production and
thermonuclear reactions, and pulsating stars. The galaxy component will cover, galaxy formation
theory, classification, star formation, galaxy interactions, dark matter, black holes and large scale
structure of the Universe.
Assessment: Stars component - three assignments, including computational problems (43 per
cent), research essay (~1500 words + figures) and 10 min presentation to the class (7 per cent).
Galaxies component: three assignments, each 15 per cent, and attendance 5 per cent
Contact: Dr Stefan Keller 3-D relativ istic galactic jet
simulation
ASTR3002: Black holes and cosm ology (6CP)
This is a movie rendered in three dimensions of a
Taught by: A/Professor Lilia Ferrario and Professor Brian Schmidt supercomputer simulation of a powerful relativistic jet
Offered in: 2nd Semester 2012 interacting with dense clouds surrounding...
Times: TBD
Student profiles
Venue: TBD
Syllabus: This course covers the theory of general relativity with applications to black holes and
cosmology. Topics include the following. Metrics and Riemannian tensors. The calculus of
variations and Lagrangians. Spaces and space-times of general relativity. The Schwarzschild
metric and black holes. Photon and particle orbits. Theoretical cosmology: Universe models.
Dark matter and dark energy. Observational Cosmology: historical observations, distances,
accelerating Universe and the cosmic background radiation.
Assessment: Four assignments each worth 25 per cent. Assignments involving problem solving, Christine Nicholls
computational, numerical methods, statistical, mathematical and essay writing components.
PhD candidate, 2008
Contact: A/Professor Lilia Ferrario
Astronomical sleuthing is all in a day's work for
Christine Nicholls, who is attempting to solve the
Astrophysical gas dynam ics (6CP)
mystery of Long Secondary Periods in red giant...
Taught by: Professor Geoff Bicknell
Offered in: 1st Semester 2012
Time: TBD -- 3 lectures + 1 tutorial per week, beginning 21 Feb
Venue: Duffield Lecture Theatre, Mount Stromlo
Syllabus: Topics in astrophysical fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics, including fluids and
kinetic theory, MHD kinetic theory, shocks, winds and relativistic fluids.

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Graduate - RSAA - ANU http://rsaa.anu.edu.au/study/graduate

Assessment: Assessment based on assignments totaling about 40 questions.

Contact: Professor Geoff Bicknell

Observational techniques - 3CP

Taught by: Professor Peter McGregor
Offered in: 1st semester 2012
Time: 14:00-15:00 and 15:30-16:30, Tuesday and Thursday from 20 March 2012.
Venue: Woolley seminar room, Mount Stromlo
Syllabus: The course covers basic techniques required to obtain and analyse astronomical
observations: including photometric systems, measurement errors, optics, telescope and
instrument optics and detector systems, spectroscopy and imaging systems.
Assessment: Assignments
Contact: Professor Peter McGregor

Diffuse m atter in the Universe - 3CP

Taught by: Professor Mike Dopita
Offered in: 1st semester 2012
Time: TBD, starting around 11th April, 4 lectures a week for 5 weeks.
Venue: Duffield Lecture Theater or Woolley seminar room, Mount Stromlo
Syllabus: TBA
Assessment: TBD
Contact: Professor Mike Dopita

Planetary science - EMSC3022 (6CP)

Taught by: Professor Trevor Ireland (Research School of Earth Sciences)
Offered in: 2nd semester 2012
Time: TBD
Venue: TBD
Syllabus: This course provides an introduction to planetary geology with a view to understanding
what makes planet Earth so special in a galactic context. We will explore the solar system and
humans' place in it. We will examine the essential ingredients for life on planets and how the
planets come by them. We will step back in time to examine the earliest solar system, going back
to the origin of the elements themselves and the processes that have occurred in carrying matter
from where it formed to where it can build new solar systems. The conditions on individual planets
appears to be the result of many stochastic processes and it can be concluded that our solar
system is the end-product of many accidental and chance events, leading to a philosophical
discussion of whether planets similar to Earth will be discovered elsewhere in the universe.
Assessment: TBD - indicative assessment: 15 per cent topical essay, 15 per cent research
essay, 15 per cent oral presentation of research essay, 15 per cent laboratory exercises, 40 per
cent final exam
Contact: Professor Trevor Ireland

Utility courses
These short (2-8 lectures) courses are not part of the honours/graduate program but will help
students with Unix, LaTeX, BibTex, literature review, writing, etc. They are regularly offered by
the Graduate Information Literacy Program at ANU. Please see their webpages for more
information.

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