01
Stars: how they live and die
What holds a star up, and what happens when it stops?
Frontier · Module 17
Astrophysics & Cosmology
Apply everything so far to the largest object there is. The remarkable thing is that it works — and that 95% of what it describes is still unidentified.
By the end of this module
You can explain where every atom in your body was manufactured, and when.
0%0 / 5 complete
02
Galaxies and the cosmic distance ladder
How do we know how far away anything is?
03
The expanding universe and the Big Bang
What is expanding, and what is it expanding into?
Primary source★ LandmarkFree
A Relation between Distance and Radial Velocity among Extra-Galactic Nebulae ↗Edwin Hubble, 1929
04
CMB, inflation, dark matter and dark energy
Why do we believe in things we cannot see, and what would change our minds?
Primary source★ LandmarkFree
A Measurement of Excess Antenna Temperature at 4080 Mc/s ↗Penzias & Wilson, 1965
The accidental discovery of the CMB — two pages.
Primary source★ LandmarkFree
Planck 2018 results: cosmological parameters ↗Planck Collaboration
The current best measurement of what the universe is made of.
Check yourself
End-of-module quiz
Every answer comes with the reasoning, not just a verdict. Getting one wrong and reading why is the point.
01A main-sequence star is stable because:
02Cosmological redshift is caused by:
03Evidence for dark matter comes most directly from:
Answer all 3 to finish the module.