Astronomy deals with the study of celestial objects like planets, stars, satellites etc. It also deals with various phenomena outside the earth’s atmosphere. It helps the students in understanding various levels of science, how to utilize it to study about the universe, and its application in daily life. The course also deals with the application of physics in the astronomy.

The main focuses of the astronomy course are:

• To collect and explore data to bring out meaningful interpretations
• To understand the nature of gravity
• To practice scientific methods in the field of astronomy to get solutions to problems
• To realize the basics of astronomy and its discoveries
• To understand the nature and behavior of light

Course Details and Eligibility Criteria

The aspirants can pursue diploma, certificate, bachelor’s degree, and master’s degree courses in astronomy. For joining any undergraduate course, the candidates have to complete their 12th with mathematics and science. To pursue master’s degree course in astronomy, the candidates have to complete their bachelor’s degree in science or mathematics from a recognized university. The branches of Astronomy include Astrochemistry, Astrometry, Astrophysics, Astrobiology, Astrometeorology, and Astrogeology.

Institutes that offer astronomy courses

At present, only a very few institutes in India offer courses in astronomy. A list of those institutes is mentioned below.

• Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala
• Osmania University, Hyderabad
• Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad
• Raman Research Institute, Bangalore
• Swami Ramanand Teerth Marthwada University, Nanded
• Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune
• Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu
• Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala
• School of Pure and Applied Physics, Kerala

Career Opportunities

The aspirants who have completed the astronomy course can get jobs as Research Scientists. Many government organizations like Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), etc provide placements for these candidates. In addition to academic qualifications, the candidates in the field of astronomy require curiosity, patience, passion, concentration, scientific approach, and good programming skills to work in these organizations. Graduates in astronomy are not usually qualified for any research jobs. They can find placements in several areas like mathematics, engineering, environmental science, computer science etc and a few non-science domains like finance.

Remuneration

A fresher in this field may get a starting salary ranging from Rs.15000/- to Rs.20000/- per month. As the experience and seniority in the research field grows up, the remuneration will also increase. The average monthly salary of astronomers employed by Federal government ranges from 1 lakhs to 2 lakhs rupees.

Impacts of astronomy course

Since many decades, universe and its contents remained a mystery to the common people. This laid a foundation to the development of Astronomy course, which was the most awaited tool to solve the issue. The courses in astronomy aims at enlightening the mind of the students with the many diversified features concerned with the heavenly bodies and the universe. The course mainly provides attention to the real and apparent motions of the heavenly bodies like nature and constitution, physical condition, radiations produced, and their effects on each other by attraction. The domain also takes care of the future developments of the heavenly bodies and the possible past history. The course is mostly based on the observational science rather than experimental science. Moreover, this incredible tool helps in revealing the celestial phenomenon to the common people.