Astro 101: Black Holes 

offered by University of Alberta

In this module, you will become familiar with the basic structure of a black hole, learn the terminology used to describe them, and explore the history of black hole physics.

Stars are the progenitors of black holes. In this module students will learn about the lifecycle of stars, how stars produce energy, and how they radiate away energy.

What happens if you travel close to the speed of light? What happens to the passage of time as you fall towards a black hole? This module will explore relativity.

In this module students will explore the various sizes of black holes and their measurable properties. Students will learn that there are four major types of astrophysical black holes (primordial/mini black hole's, stellar mass, intermediate mass and supermassive black holes), and discover current theories on their formation, and what might feed them

In this module students will follow material as it is transferred from a companion star to a black hole via Roche lobe overflow or wind fed accretion. They will then follow that material down through the accretion disc to explore tidal forces to learn about the ways in which black holes can rip apart surrounding material.

What would happen if you fell into a black hole? In this module students continue on their journey through a black hole binary system, from the innermost stable orbit of the accretion disc to the singularity itself.

This module will start to explore the theoretical side of black hole physics. You will receive a basic introduction to relevant topics of Quantum Mechanics and thermodynamics with the aim of understanding current black hole debates among the giants of the field.

If black holes absorb all light, how do we see them? In this module, you will explore how astronomers observe real black holes, from studies of accretion discs and jets to the study of material orbiting a black hole.

Black holes change over time. This module will focus on how and why black holes change as well as how we look for these changes.

In this module students will be introduced to gravitational radiation. With the 2016 LIGO discovery of gravitational waves, a whole new branch of astronomy has been opened.