Astronomy and Astrophysics - An Introductory Survey, A lecture series by Prof. G. Srinivasan - Astronomy and Astrophysics: Introduction to the Series

This is the opening lecture in the series on astronomy and astrophysics by Prof. G. Srinivasan, brought to you by the Astronomical Society of India. ABOUT THIS LECTURE Astronomy has witnessed an unprecedented revolution during the past sixty years or so. During the last century, 'new windows to the Universe' opened up. One can now observe the sky at a wide spectrum of wavelengths - Radio waves, Millimeter waves, Infrared, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-rays, and Gamma Rays; the advent of space-age, as well as dramatic progress made with 'detectors' at various wavelengths, has made this possible. Further, astronomy is not only 'multiwavelength', but 'multimessenger', with cosmic rays, neutrinos, and gravitational radiation providing valuable information about astrophysical processes. This lecture is an overview of the unfolding revolution and forms the preamble to this exciting series of lectures. ABOUT THE LECTURE SERIES This lecture series is organized by the Astronomical Society of India as a part of its Golden Jubilee celebrations. Aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, this series of talks by renowned astrophysicist and teacher, Prof G. Srinivasan, starts from the first principles of Physics and builds up the subject rigorously to the present state of our understanding. Series website: https://astron-soc.in/srini-ana The website hosts a question bank as well as a list of suggested reading for each lecture (prepared by Dr. Sushan Konar) ABOUT THE SPEAKER Professor G. Srinivasan In a research career spanning more than five decades, his interests have spanned many aspects of physics and astrophysics. He is a passionate teacher and has authored two outstanding Astronomy texts titled ‘What Are The Stars?’ and ‘Can Stars Find Peace?’ He is a Past President of the Astronomical Society of India, and a Past President of the Division on Space and High Energy Astrophysics of the International Astronomical Union. In his distinguished career he has worked at the University of Chicago, USA; the IBM Research Laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland; Chalmers University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden; the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, England and the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru Follow us on social media at https://twitter.com/asipoec https://www.facebook.com/asi.poec/ This series is also supported by the IAU OAE Centre in India https://twitter.com/astro4edu_India https://www.facebook.com/OAE-Center-India-105698322030674