Admission Requirements
Open to students that are registered for the minor Our Universe.
Description
In this course, we follow the path of elements from their creation in the Big Bang, via nucleosynthesis in stars, through the vast space between the stars, into clouds that collapse and form new generations of stars and planets. We explore the chemistry that forms molecules of increasing complexity and follow this through the formation of planets onto the early Earth and other rocky planets elsewhere in the Universe. We discuss how planets around other stars are detected and how this has led to a paradigm shift in how we view the Universe, from a place filled with stars to a place filled with large amounts of planets. We review the properties of these planets, both in our Solar System and around other stars, where we specifically focus on their atmospheres. We look at the early conditions on Earth and other planets like Venus and Mars and discuss their vastly different further development. We follow the origin of life on Earth, and its intimate connection to the Earth’s climate, from snowball Earth to hot-house conditions. The influence of the Sun on the Earth’s climate is discussed, together with feedback conditions that keep the Earth’s climate relatively stable – but sometimes don’t– and place the current climate crisis in this context. We also look forward to the next 4.5 billion years of the Earth’s evolution and the prospects for habitability, together with an assessment of cosmic hazards such as asteroid impacts and gamma ray bursts. Looking even further, we explore the future of life in an ever-expanding universe.
In the practical sessions we work on exoplanet detection with real data, explore Drake’s equation to assess the likelihood of intelligent life in the universe – together with a discussion of what defines life or intelligence, we discuss facts & fiction in the climate crisis debate, assess exoplanet properties and observational biases that affect our data.
Course objectives
At the end of this course you:
Can qualitatively describe the origin of the elements inside stars.
Can qualitatively describe the path the elements take from stars via the interstellar medium to forming star and planet systems.
Can describe the important steps in the formation of stars and planets, and relate these to the prospects for habitability of the resulting worlds.
Can describe the current ideas about the origin of life on Earth and relate this to the conditions present on other Solar System objects and exoplanets.
Explain how exoplanets are detected and how we can study the composition of their atmospheres.
Describe the influence of a star/the Sun and the atmospheric composition on the climate of a planet/Earth, and explain the causes of the current climate crisis and place this in the context of 4.5 billion years of Earth’s history.
Reflect on the prospects of (intelligent) life in the Universe and place Earth in this context.
Timetable
See MyTimetable.
Mode of Instruction
Lectures and tutorials.
This course exists of lectures and tutorial sessions. The lectures introduce theoretical knowledge and concepts. During the tutorial sessions the students will bring this new information into practice and deepen their understanding through group exercises. The lectures will be given by the main instructor and other lecturers from Leiden Observatory. During the practical session, the students will work in groups aided by teaching assistants and the main instructor.
Assessment Method
Written exam with open and closed questions (100%).
Participation tutorials: pass/fail.
Students need to pass both components to pass the course.
Reading list
See Brightspace.
Registration
Registration for courses and exams takes place via MyStudymap.
Contact
Minor coordinator: Prof.dr. Serena Viti | viti@strw.leidenuniv.nl
Course coordinator: Dr. Nienke van der Marel | nmarel@strw.leidenuniv.nl