Astronomy is at the same time one of the oldest and one of the most dynamic areas of science.
It is basically the attempt to understand the environment in which humanity developed, from the solar system in which we find our direct and recent origins, to the largest distance scales typified by quasars and the big bang, in which we must search for the very origins of structure ranging from the solar system to the largest structures, such as large clusters of galaxies and cosmic voids . The past quarter century has seen startling discoveries, such as the cosmic microwave background radiation, that have given us both new understanding of the universe and made us more aware of the problems still facing us in attaining a further understanding. In addition there has recently been a significant trend towards the integration of many of the ideas of modern high energy physics into astronomy, with particularly interesting developments concerning ideas about the very first seconds in the evolution of our universe. For students wishing to further their study in astronomy, there are a number of B-level courses, which are integral components of a number of the Physical Sciences Specialist Programmes. In addition, the course ASTB03 S is intended for students who have taken no previous astronomy, and covers the history of modern astronomy.