Course overview ^

ASTR 2P42 (cross-listed as PHYS 2P42) is an advanced 2nd-year course on astrophysics and cosmology. It is intended as a continuation of ASTR 1P01/02, which is an introductory 1st-year course for students of all majors. ASTR 2P42 was created for students who have suitable background knowledge in mathematics and physics and want to study the material with much more depth and detail.

This course includes the following topic:

• Structure, formation, and evolution of planets, stars, and galaxies.
• White dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, and other exotic entities.
• The possibility of life on other planets, interstellar travel, and space colonies.
• Dark matter and dark energy.
• Origin and ultimate fate of the universe.
• Applications of general relativity and quantum mechanics to astrophysics and cosmology.
• Concepts from science fiction, such as faster-than-light travel and time travel, and whether they are compatible with our current knowledge of physics.
• And more!

Students who wish to take ASTR 2P42 must first successfully complete the following courses:

• 1st-year astronomy: ASTR 1P01 and 1P02.
• 1st-year calculus-based physics: PHYS 1P95 and 1P96. Technically, PHYS 1P21/91 and 1P22/92 (1st-year algebra-based physics) are also valid prerequisites, but students who never did any calculus-based physics (PHYS 1P95 and 1P96, or higher-year courses) will have a hard time in ASTR 2P42, and are advised to self-study the relevant material first.
• 1st-year calculus: MATH 1P01 and 1P02 or MATH 1P05 and 1P06.

Please note that these prerequisites are all mandatory; you will not be able to take ASTR 2P42 if you did not take all of these courses first, unless you get an exemption from the professor. Exemptions will be given either for taking an equivalent course at another university, or for demonstrating equivalent knowledge of the material via an oral exam.

This course may include a field trip to an observatory. More details will be posted later.

Important: Announcements from the professor, containing crucial information and ongoing updates about the course, will be posted throughout the term on Microsoft Teams, in the "General" channel. To make sure you get notified of these announcements, please go to the course Teams site, click on the three dots to the right of "General", then go to "Channel notifications" and choose the option "All activity", as shown in this screenshot: (In the screenshot the channel name is "Announcements", but it works the same for any channel.)

It is your responsibility to follow the announcements and read all of them thoroughly on a regular basis. No accommodations will be made for students who fail to satisfy the course requirements due to not reading the professor's announcements!

There are no required fees for this course.

Course syllabus ^

The course website also doubles as the course syllabus. If you need the syllabus in PDF format, simply click here to print it and choose "Save to PDF".

About the professor ^

The professor for this course is Dr. Barak Shoshany (ħe/ħim). I did my BSc in mathematics and physics at Tel Aviv University in Israel and my MSc and PhD at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario. I then taught at the University of Toronto for a short time. I joined Brock University as Assistant Professor in September 2020, and I also regularly teach scientific computing at McMaster University.

I am a theoretical, mathematical, and computational physicist. My research focuses on the nature of time and causality in general relativity and quantum mechanics, as well as symbolic and high-performance scientific computing. I'm always happy to talk about my research, and theoretical physics in general, so please feel free to ask me about it, both in and out of class!

I also love teaching. I developed 10 full-term undergraduate and graduate courses from scratch since 2020, including 5 physics courses, 3 astronomy courses, 1 scientific computing course, and 1 mathematics course. My devotion to teaching won me the Brock University Faculty of Mathematics & Science Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2023.

When I'm not teaching or doing research, I love composing music, playing video games, board games, and tabletop role-playing games, and reading or watching science fiction and fantasy. Please see my personal website for details on my research, teaching, talks, media interviews, music compositions, and more.

My office is located in room E219 in the Mackenzie Chown Complex (MC). I do not have fixed office hours. You are welcome to drop by my office unannounced whenever you want, but I'm not there too often. If you would like to meet, please email me at bshoshany@brocku.ca, and I would be happy to schedule a meeting, either online or in my office.

Schedule and lectures ^

The course will take place during the Winter (D3) 2026 term, from January 5 to April 3, 2026. The deadline for withdrawal without academic penalty is March 5. There will be two 1.5-hour lectures every week:

• Tuesdays 17:30-19:00,
• Thursdays 17:30-19:00.

The following lectures will be canceled:

• Tuesday, February 17 and Thursday, February 19, due to Reading Week.

In total, we will have 24 lectures and 36 lecture hours. Note that classes at Brock end 10 minutes ahead of the hour or half hour. The lectures will take place at GSB 305 (Goodman School of Business, room 305).

For your convenience, here is the full list of lecture days, times, and locations:

• Lecture 1: Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 2: Thursday, January 8, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 3: Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 4: Thursday, January 15, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 5: Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 6: Thursday, January 22, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 7: Tuesday, January 27, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 8: Thursday, January 29, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 9: Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 10: Thursday, February 5, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 11: Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 12: Thursday, February 12, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• (Tuesday, February 17 and Thursday, February 19: Reading Week)
• Lecture 13: Tuesday, February 24, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 14: Thursday, February 26, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 15: Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 16: Thursday, March 5, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 17: Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 18: Thursday, March 12, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 19: Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 20: Thursday, March 19, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 21: Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 22: Thursday, March 26, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 23: Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 24: Thursday, April 2, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305
• Lecture 25: Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 17:30-19:00, GSB 305 (snow day makeup lecture)

The course will also have a Microsoft Teams site, where students can have discussions and ask the professor questions. The professor will also use Teams to make announcements, and it is crucial that you follow these announcements closely and enable notifications. There will not be any online lectures on Teams, only in-person lectures.

Course outline ^

The course will closely follow the textbook Principles Of Astrophysics by Charles Keeton (Springer, 2014). The textbook is available for free as a PDF file via Brock University's library; you do not need to purchase it. You can download it directly at this link using your Brock username and password.

Since this is a brand new course, the list of topic we will cover from the textbook is yet to be determined. However, we will most likely cover most of Part I and as much as we can of Part II. The exact list of chapters covered will be posted on Teams every week as we progress.

Pro Tip: Add the following bookmarklet to your browser bookmarks to quickly access any online resource (such as the Springer website) through the Brock University library proxy:

Homework problem sets ^

There will be occasional homework problem sets. Each problem set will be posted on Teams. The homework problem sets do not need to be submitted, will not be marked, and will not contribute to your final grade directly; but solving them will be crucial for your success in the exams. The problem sets can be solved either alone or together with other classmates, and discussion of the problem sets with other students, whether on Teams or in private, is strongly encouraged.

Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini have reached a point where they can easily solve any homework problem in this course correctly, as long as a sufficiently advanced model is used. Therefore, you may feel tempted to simply give the problem sets to an LLM and copy the answers. However, since the homework problem sets are not graded, this will be a completely pointless exercise that will not help you learn anything and only waste your time. During the exams you will, obviously, not be allowed to use LLMs, so if you do not practice solving problems on your own, you will surely fail the exams!

Exams and grading ^

There will be 3 exams during the term, roughly one per month. Each exam will test the students' understanding of the material learned up to the exam date. The exams will be scheduled for a time that works for all of the students; we will schedule them together during the lectures.

The exams will be given in person, at a room which will be booked once the exams are scheduled. I will be present in the exam room for the duration of the exam in case clarification is needed for any of the exam questions.

The exams will contain questions similar to the homework problems. There may be calculation and/or proof questions. The level will be the same as the questions in the homework - not harder, but also not easier.

Since notes are allowed, you do not need to memorize anything! The exam is not meant to test your memory. It will test your level of understanding of the astronomy, physics, and math concepts you learn in the course, and your ability to apply them correctly and efficiently to concrete problems.

Once the timer starts, you will have a fixed time that will be specified later to solve the exam (unless you have extra time accommodations). If you are late to the exam, you will not get any extra time, so please make sure to be at the exam room at least 15 minutes before the beginning of the exam.

Each exam will be worth a third of the final grade. After the average is calculated, it will be rounded to the nearest integer, with .5 rounded up. A final grade of 50% or more is required to pass the course.

Allowed material and academic integrity ^

During each exam, you may use up to 42 normal-sized double-sided papers containing any material of your choice, handwritten and/or printed. This may include, for example, your own notes, other people's notes, and/or any other material you wish to use. There is no limit on what can be included in the notes, or in what format.

Computers, phones, tablets, smart watches, smart glasses, and other digital devices cannot be used, but you can use a calculator. Any students found using a digital device of any kind during the exam will be charged with academic misconduct.

Official statement from the Faculty of Mathematics and Science at Brock University regarding academic misconduct:

Academic misconduct is a serious offense. The principle of academic integrity, particularly of doing one's own work, documenting properly (including use of quotation marks, appropriate paraphrasing and referencing/citation), collaborating appropriately, and avoiding misrepresentation, is a core principle in university study. Students should consult Section VII, "Academic Misconduct", in the "Academic Regulations and University Policies" entry in the Undergraduate Calendar to view a fuller description of prohibited actions, and the procedures and penalties. Information on what constitutes academic integrity is available at Brock University Academic Integrity Website.

The following are standard penalties imposed in academic misconduct cases in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science. Please be aware that the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs, may assign different penalties than those listed here, depending on the details of individual cases. Requests for special academic consideration, such as exceptions to academic regulations, will not be considered while academic integrity cases are ongoing.

Maximum penalties for misconduct in course work, including mid-term tests:

• First offense: Zero grade on assignment, additional penalty of 100% of the weight of the assignment to be subtracted from the final grade, mandatory completion of the AZLS Academic Integrity workshop.
• Second offense: Zero grade on assignment, 4-month suspension.
• Third offense: Zero grade in course, 1-year suspension, permanent removal from major program.
• Fourth offense: Permanent suspension / debarment.

Penalties for misconduct in final exams:

• First offense: Zero grade in course.
• Second offense: Zero grade in course, 4-month suspension.
• Third: Zero grade in course, 1-year suspension, permanent removal from major program.
• Fourth offense: Permanent suspension / debarment.

How to succeed in the exams ^

To succeed in the exams, please make sure to:

• Attend all the lectures and actively participate in them. If something is unclear, ask for a clarification. If a topic inspires you to ask a followup question, ask it. If I ask the class (or you personally) a question, do your best to answer it. In my experience, the students who participate the most in class are also the students who get the highest grades in the exams!
• Thoroughly read and understand the textbook in order to revise and get a better understanding of what I said in the lectures. This is especially important if you missed a lecture. Also, please note that anything in the textbook can appear in the exam, even if I did not cover it directly in the lectures, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
• Make an honest effort to solve the problem sets in their entirety. Don't just ask an AI for the solutions without solving the problems yourself. If you do that, you will never learn how to solve problems on your own, and you will not succeed in the exams! If you are stuck on a particular question, you should discuss it with your classmates.
• Solve as many as possible of the problems from the textbook corresponding to the sections we learned each week - preferably all of them! The exams are designed such that any student who successfully solved all the problems in the textbook and all the homework problems should be able to get 100%.
• Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can be an extremely useful tool in this course. They can answer your questions about the material, give you feedback on your homework solutions, and help prepare you for the exams. However, if you always rely on LLMs to solve the problems for you, you will never learn how to solve them on your own! Therefore, while you are encouraged to use LLMs as a tool for learning, you must make sure to solve all the actual problems yourself. I already know that the LLMs can get 100% on all my exams; the purpose of the course is to get you to that level too.
• If you use an LLM, make sure that the model you are using is sufficiently advanced to give correct and reliable answers. This means a large model (not a small model) and a reasoning model (not a chat model). Models you should use include the latest versions of GPT Thinking, Claude Opus, or Gemini Pro (note that all of these require a paid subscription). Models you should not use include GPT Instant, Claude Sonnet/Haiku, Gemini Flash, older versions of any models, or any open-weight models. For more information about LLMs and the differences between different models, please see these slides from my AI Workshop for Students.
• Interact with the professor. If you don't interact with me in any way, then you might as well just read the textbook or watch lectures on YouTube. I am available to you during the lectures, on Teams, and by email. You are always welcome to drop by my office. Don't be shy to ask for help if you need it - that's what I'm here for!

Missed exams and extra time accommodations ^

Missed exams

If you miss an exam due to legitimate medical, personal, or other issues, you must email me within 7 days of the exam. The following forms are acceptable:

• For medical issues only, the Brock University Medical Verification Form should be used. The form must be filled out in its entirety and signed by both you and a health professional.
• For medical or non-medical issues, the Brock University Student Absence Self-Declaration Form can be used, but only once per term, only for term tests (Exam 1 and Exam 2), and only for absences of up to 72 hours.
• For non-medical issues only, if the Self-Declaration Form cannot be used, your email should simply explain why you missed the exam and include any necessary proof. I will then determine whether your reason for missing the exam is legitimate.

If I am satisfied with the forms and/or proof you provided, I will schedule a day and time for you to take the exam in my office. Of course, you will be forbidden from asking other students about the contents of the exam; if you do, you will be charged with academic misconduct.

If you do not email me within 7 days, or your reason for missing the exam is not acceptable, your grade in the exam will be zero.

Extra time accommodations

If you have any extra time accommodations from Student Accessibility Services, please email me your Approved Accommodations Summary letter before the exam date. Please make sure you appear on the OASIS portal, and that you have a valid Approved Accommodations Summary letter, before emailing me. If you don't know what these things mean, please ask your case manager.

If you have extra time accommodations, you will take the exam in the same room with everyone else, but you will have more time to solve it. Do not attempt to take the exam at the SAS exam center - they will not have the exam in the first place, and being able to ask me questions directly during the exam is extremely important for your success.

Useful software ^

Interested students may find the following applications useful. They are 100% free and available for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS. Using them is optional, but might help you understand the material better.

• Stellarium: Shows you the sky as seen from any place on Earth at any point in time. You can zoom in or click on individual astronomical objects for more information. You can also highlight the constellations. If using it during the day, press "A" to turn off the atmosphere. Stellarium can also run directly in your web browser, but that version has fewer features. I often use Stellarium in my lectures.
• Celestia: Allows you to travel to different objects in the solar system, such as planets, moons, and asteroids, and shows you their orbits and positions at different times. You can also find eclipses, and travel to other stars in the galaxy.

Universe Sandbox is an astronomical simulation game. It's not free, but it's quite cheap and definitely worth it. It works on Windows, Linux, and macOS, and has an optional VR mode.

The are also several apps that you can use in the field for astronomical observations. Sky Map is available for Android phones only, while SkyView is available both for Android and iPhone. Simply point your phone to the sky, and the app will tell you exactly what you're seeing in real time!

Additionally, you may be interested in Gaia Sky, a billion-star map of the Milky Way Galaxy, which also works in VR (on Windows and Linux only).

Finally, Python, a free and open-source programming language, is extremely useful for scientific computing and widely used in astrophysics research. I may occasionally use Python in my lectures to demonstrate various concepts and perform calculations, and I will show you how to do so as well.

It is highly recommended to install Visual Studio Code along with the Python extension and Jyputer extension, as it provides an excellent integrated environment for writing, running, and debugging Python programs and Jupyter notebooks.

Accommodations ^

Brock University is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all students and will adhere to the Human Rights principles that ensure respect for dignity, individualized accommodation, inclusion, and full participation. The University provides a wide range of resources to assist students, as follows:

• If you need any accommodations related to exams, such as extra time, because of a disability or an ongoing health or mental health condition, please contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) at askSAS@brocku.ca or (905) 688-5550 ext. 3240 as soon as possible to arrange your accommodations.
• If you require academic accommodation on religious grounds, you should make a formal written request to the professor during the first two weeks of the term, or as soon as possible after a need for accommodation is known to exist. Religious accommodations are not granted automatically, and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• If you are experiencing mental health concerns, contact the Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre. Good2Talk is a service specifically for post-secondary students, available 24/7, 365 days a year, and provides anonymous assistance: visit the website or call 1 866 925-5454. For information on wellness, coping, and resiliency, click here.
• If you have been affected by sexual violence, the Human Rights & Equity Office offers support, information, reasonable accommodations, and resources through the Sexual Violence Support & Education Coordinator. For information on sexual violence, visit Brock's Sexual Assault and Harassment Policy or contact the Sexual Violence Support & Response Coordinator at humanrights@brocku.ca or (905) 688-5550 ext. 4387.
• If you have experienced discrimination or harassment on any of the above grounds, including racial, gender or other forms of discrimination, contact the Human Rights and Equity Office at humanrights@brocku.ca.

Intellectual property notice ^

Any and all course materials created by the instructor in this course, including but not limited to notes, slides, homework problems, homework solutions, exams, exam solutions, and photo, audio, and/or video recordings, are the intellectual property of the instructor.

Any student who, without the instructor's express consent, publicly posts or sells the instructor's work, or takes a photo, audio, and/or video recording of the instructor's lectures, will be charged with misconduct under the university's Academic Integrity Policy and/or Code of Conduct, and may also face adverse legal consequences for infringement of intellectual property rights.