Let Us Learn About Cosmology & Astrophysics
Includes various research areas: cosmology, galaxies, interstellar phenomena, stars, planets, and etc. We mainly study objects which are smaller than galaxy and larger than the solar system. Prof. Nakagawa studies formation of planetary systems. In recent years, observers found many extra-solar planets, which are very different from the planets in our solar system. One of the goals of the study is to explain why there is so much variation among planetary systems. Dr. Aikawa is working on molecular evolution in star forming regions and protoplanetary disks. She studies star formation and planetary formation by combining the theoretical models of molecular evolution and radio observations. Although we study various kinds of objects and phenomena, we share a basic idea --- physics is a powerful tool to reveal the structure and evolution of astronomical objects
Earth into the cosmosand apply the principles and techniques of physics first to the composition and evolution of stars, a branch of physics called astrophysics, and then to the large-scale structure of the universe, a field called cosmology. When observing stars and galaxies, astrophysicists and cosmologists are limited to examining the electromagnetic radiation and occasional particles emitted at times past that happen to have traveled to the vicinity of Earth so as to arrive at the moment of observation. The information thus gained, together with the fundamental assumption that the laws of physics discovered here on Earth are also valid throughout the universe, forms the basis for their work. During most of history, the instrument used for studying the cosmos was the human eye. Though well adapted to life on Earth, the eye is a relatively poor instrument for scientific examination of the sky because it stores information for only a small fraction of a second before transmitting it to the brain for analysis.
Cosmology means the study of the universe. But one could distinguish between physical Cosmology, the Cosmology of science and physics (e.g. the "Big Bang" Theory of the expanding universe), and metaphyscal or "esoteric' or "occult" Cosmology. The latter refers not only to the physical universe, but also to all the subtle or non-physical universes as well; the higher realms of existence - psychic, spiritual, and so on - that are beyond the physical
If you have an interest in the physical properties of space, this is the place for you. Cosmology & astrophysics are sub-fields of astronomy, focusing on the properties of the universe as a whole (cosmology) and the physical or chemical properties of celestial bodies (astrophysics).
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