ASTR398B

Prerequisites: ASTR100 or ASTR101; and completion of the CORE Distributive Studies requirement in Mathematics and Sciences or General Education Fundamental Studies requirement in Mathematics. Or permission of CMNS-Astronomy department. Designed primarily for non-majors. Students are provided with a non-technical introduction to the properties of black holes and the role that they play in the Universe. Topics covered include: escape velocity, Newton's and Einstein's theories of gravity, basic anatomy of a black hole, stellar death and the formation of black holes, active galactic nuclei and quasars, and the influence of black holes on galaxy formation .