Problem sets

14 problems across 7 topics. Each one opens with a hint you can ignore and a solution you can hide.

0 / 14 solved

Spherical Astronomy & Coordinates

Equatorial, horizontal and ecliptic coordinates, sidereal time, precession, and the geometry of the celestial sphere. The foundation every other topic leans on.

Which stars never set?Introductory Why the sidereal day is shorterIntermediate

Celestial Mechanics & Orbits

Newtonian gravity, Kepler's three laws, the vis-viva equation, binary star systems, escape velocity and Hohmann transfers.

Total mass of a visual binaryIntroductory Hohmann transfer to MarsAdvanced

Stellar Astrophysics

Luminosity and flux, the magnitude system, Stefan-Boltzmann and Wien's laws, the HR diagram, hydrostatic equilibrium, nuclear timescales and stellar endpoints.

Distance modulus of a CepheidIntroductory Radius of a red supergiantIntermediate

Planetary Science

Equilibrium temperatures, Roche limits, tidal forces, atmospheric escape, transit and radial-velocity detection of exoplanets.

Equilibrium temperature of an exoplanetIntermediate Reading a transit light curveAdvanced

Observational Astronomy & Photometry

Aperture and focal ratio, angular resolution, limiting magnitude, signal-to-noise, atmospheric extinction, CCD photometry and spectral analysis.

Resolving a double starIntroductory Atmospheric extinction and airmassIntermediate

Galactic & Extragalactic Astronomy

Galactic rotation and Oort constants, the interstellar medium, galaxy classification, distance ladders, active galactic nuclei and dark matter evidence.

Dark matter from a flat rotation curveAdvanced Do stars collide when galaxies merge?Intermediate

Cosmology

Hubble's law, redshift and lookback time, the Friedmann equations, critical density, the cosmic microwave background and Big Bang nucleosynthesis.

Hubble time and the age of the UniverseIntroductory Recombination and the CMBAdvanced

Difficulty scale:IntroductoryIntermediateAdvancedOlympiad