Astrophysical Sciences

The astrophysical sciences apply the full toolkit of physics — mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, nuclear physics, general relativity, and quantum mechanics — to understand celestial objects and the universe as a whole. Astrophysics examines stellar structure and evolution, from hydrogen-burning main-sequence stars through white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes, as well as galactic dynamics, the interstellar medium, and the emerging field of gravitational wave astronomy. Cosmology addresses the largest scales, tracing the history of the universe from the Big Bang through inflation, nucleosynthesis, the formation of the cosmic microwave background, and the growth of large-scale structure, while grappling with the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy that dominate the cosmic energy budget. Geophysics and planetary science turn the lens closer to home, studying the internal structure of Earth and other bodies through seismology, plate tectonics, and geomagnetism, along with atmospheric physics, planetary formation, and the rapidly expanding field of exoplanet characterisation. Together these three sub-topics connect laboratory physics to the grandest phenomena in nature.