Table of Contents
AST 403: Galaxies and Intergalactic Medium
Syllabus PDF: ast403_2026_syllabus.pdf
Here is the lecture notes on stellar astronomy: stellarastronomy.pdf
Homework
Homework 1 (deadline is 31 January 2026 12 PM BST): hw_1_hr_diagram.pdf
The homework is based on this simulation: https://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/stellarprops/hrexplorer.html
Homework 2 (deadline is 14 February 2026 12 PM BST): ast403_hw2.pdf
This homework will test your understanding on a number of concepts that we have discussed. There are two ways you can submit:
1. Use the overleaf link and work directly with LaTeX. For this make sure you first create a copy for yourself that belongs to you only. Then submit the pdf output.
2 Those who are not comfortable with LaTex, can read the questions form the uploaded pdf, work on papers, make a pdf after scanning, and upload.
The overleaf link of the homework is: https://www.overleaf.com/3134217285chmpjwswcwhq#8fe2bc
Lecture Slides
Most recent slides on Our Galaxy: ast403_galaxies.pdf
Lecture Notes
| # | Topic | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Structure and Kinematics | 1. The Milky Way |
| 1.2 | Distance Measurements | |
| 1.3 | Rotation Curve | |
| 1.4 | Morphology of Disk and Halo | |
| 1.5 | Central Black Hole | |
| 2.1 | Galaxy Classification | 2. The Nature of Galaxies |
| 2.2 | Spiral and Irregular Galaxies | |
| 2.3 | Elliptical Galaxies | |
| 2.4 | The $M-\sigma$ Relation | |
| 2.5 | Specific Frequency ($S_N$) | |
| 2.6 | Galaxy Luminosity Function | |
| 2.7 | Extragalactic Distance Scale | |
| 3.1 | Photometry and Spectroscopy | 3. Observational Properties |
| 3.2 | Population Synthesis | |
| 4.1 | General Characteristics | 4. Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) |
| 4.2 | AGN Types | |
| 4.3 | Unified Model | |
| 5.1 | The Local Group | 6. Galaxy Groups and Clusters |
| 5.2 | Virgo Cluster | |
| 5.3 | SZE | |
| 6.1 | Absorption Systems | 6. Intergalactic Medium |
| 7.1 | Baryon Acoustic Oscillation | 7. Galaxy Redshift survey and Cosmology |
| 7.2 | Two-point Correlation Function | |
| 7.3 | 2dF, SDSS, and DESI |