Suitable for ages 18+

Essential Information

Type Courses
Location
Royal Observatory
Date and Times Six-week courses held on Tuesday evenings | See page for full dates
Prices £96
Book now See all available courses

This six-week course is for people with some prior knowledge of astronomy, who are interested in exploring topics at the cutting edge of modern astronomical research and the limits of human knowledge.

Students get to study at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, a unique environment supported by a range of equally unique resources, including expert tutors, a state-of-the-art digital planetarium, and the country’s largest lensed telescope.

The course covers Solar System exploration, exoplanets, dark matter and dark energy, cosmology and the Big Bang.

While the course may be studied independently, it is an ideal follow-on course for those who have already taken Introduction to Astronomy. After completing Introduction to Astrophysics, students will be able to progress to our more advanced courses, including our GCSE-level Intermediate Astronomy and our university foundation level Foundation Astrophysics.

Everyone taking a course is also entitled to a 10% discount on books purchased from Royal Museums Greenwich - please check with your course tutor for more details!

Age: 18+

Meet the tutor: Giuseppe Nicolosi

Giuseppe comes from Sicily where the skies, in his childhood, were dark and clear. He has been hooked on astronomy since he was 8 years old. He did his BSc in Physics at Catania University and his MSc in Astrophysics at Queen Mary University in London. He is still passionate about it, and is at present looking into the fascinating history of astronomy and how we understand our Universe today by going back to its origins.

An image for 'Meet the tutor: Giuseppe Nicolosi'

When do courses run?

Courses take place on Tuesday evenings from 7-9pm and run for six weeks in total. The full dates for the 2024/25 academic year are below; when making your booking, simply select the start date of the course you'd like to join in the calendar:

  • 17 September - 22 October 2024
  • 7 January - 11 February 2025
  • 22 April - 27 May 2025

Note: Each course is intended to be run on-site at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, although occasional online sessions may become necessary in rare circumstances. Please only book if you are certain you will be able to attend an on-site course.

"Very interesting even though I found some of the formulae difficult, no doubt because they are. Many thanks to Giuseppe Nicolosi for his hard work, expertise and enthusiasm" 

Course taker autumn 2022

Find other courses you may be interested in

We offer a wide range of adult courses related to astronomy, from short six-week introductory sessions through one-year intermediate courses, to modular two-year advanced courses.

Introduction to Astronomy

Learn the basics of astronomy at the home of time and space

Foundation Astrophysics

A series of ten-week courses on more advanced topics in astrophysics

Introduction to Astronomy Online

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Public astronomy at the Royal Observatory

Learn all about our programme of events, including daytime observing sessions, evening lates, talks, community astronomy shows, film screenings in the planetarium, astronomy courses and more
Learn more