| Course | Title | Credits | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS 101 | The Solar System Offered: Spring semesters |
4 cr Undergrad |
A survey of the solar system for non-science majors and introductory astronomy students. Covers the Sun, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids — including the plasma environments of the planets and the role of the solar wind. No mathematics beyond algebra required. Enrollment typically 100–200 students. One of the most popular science courses at BU. |
| AS 202 / AS 202HP | Principles of Astronomy I (and Honors) Offered: Fall semesters |
4 cr Undergrad |
First semester of the introductory astronomy sequence for science majors. Covers celestial mechanics, light and spectra, stellar structure, stellar evolution, and an introduction to the interstellar medium. The honors section (AS 202HP) includes additional depth and problem-solving emphasis. Combined enrollment over all offerings: approximately 320 students. |
| AS 414 | Solar and Space Physics Offered: Spring, periodically |
4 cr Undergrad |
An upper-division course covering the physics of the Sun, solar wind, Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere, aurora, and space weather. Quantitative treatment using calculus and introductory differential equations. Suitable for astronomy and physics seniors. Serves as preparation for graduate-level plasma physics. Enrollment: 10–15 students per offering. |
| Course | Title | Credits | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS 703 | Introduction to Space Physics Offered: periodically |
4 cr Graduate |
Core graduate course covering the foundations of space plasma physics: single-particle motion, magnetohydrodynamics, plasma waves, ionospheric physics, the magnetosphere, and geomagnetic activity. Designed for first-year PhD students who have not taken undergraduate plasma physics. Total enrollment across all offerings: 53 students. |
| AS 708 | Plasma Physics Offered: periodically |
4 cr Graduate |
Advanced treatment of plasma physics for astronomers. Covers kinetic theory, the Vlasov–Boltzmann equation, Landau damping, plasma instabilities, waves in magnetized plasma, and collisional transport. Applications drawn from ionospheric, solar, and magnetospheric physics. Students emerging from this course are prepared to read the current plasma physics literature and to design and interpret simulations. |
| AS 727 | Cosmic Plasma Physics Offered: most years |
4 cr Graduate |
Survey of plasma physics in astrophysical and space contexts. Topics vary by year but typically include MHD, dynamos, plasma turbulence, instabilities in the solar corona and chromosphere, ionospheric physics, and particle acceleration. One of the most-offered graduate courses in the department, with a total enrollment of approximately 110 students. Suitable for astronomy PhD students at any stage. |
| AS 783 | Ionospheres Offered: periodically |
4 cr Graduate |
Specialized graduate seminar on the physics of planetary ionospheres. Covers ionization and recombination chemistry, plasma transport, electrodynamics, plasma instabilities and turbulence, and incoherent scatter radar diagnostics. Draws extensively on primary literature and on results from our own research group. Appropriate for PhD students with a plasma physics background. |
| AS 865 | Space Physics Seminar Offered: periodically |
2 cr Graduate |
Research seminar in which participants present and discuss current papers and their own research results in space physics. Speakers include group members, BU faculty, and invited external researchers. Provides graduate students with practice presenting scientific results, asking critical questions, and situating their research in the broader field. Total enrollment across offerings: approximately 60 students. |
| AS 911 | Directed Studies in Astronomy Offered: most terms |
2–4 cr Graduate |
Individual directed research for PhD students working in the group. Students undertake original research projects, write interim reports, and develop the habits of independent scientific inquiry. Designed to support students at all stages of their dissertation work. |
My goal is to convey that plasma physics is a way of thinking, not a catalogue of formulas. The same instabilities that operate in the equatorial ionosphere appear in laser fusion experiments, star-forming clouds, and the solar chromosphere — and the student who understands the underlying physics can navigate all of them.
Lectures are interactive. I work through derivations live at the board, make mistakes in public, and show how physical reasoning corrects them. Problem sets are genuinely difficult: they require synthesis, not pattern-matching. Office hours are an extension of the lecture.
For undergraduates in AS 101 and AS 202, I aim to show that astronomy is not a passive subject — it is an active science built on measurement, physical reasoning, and the willingness to be surprised.
I meet individually with each graduate student every week, and the full group meets regularly to share results and discuss papers. In the first year, I assign concrete, well-scoped starter projects that give students early success — a publication-worthy result — before moving to the open-ended questions at the center of a dissertation.
I believe students learn best by doing: building a simulation code, breaking it, fixing it, and then discovering something no one knew before. Every student in this group writes and owns a piece of scientific software. That ownership is both intellectually important and a significant career asset.
Funding for conference travel is routinely included in our research grants. I actively encourage students to attend AGU, CEDAR, and URSI meetings from their first year, and to build the professional networks that will sustain a long career.
Students interested in enrolling in any of the above courses should contact Prof. Oppenheim at meerso@bu.edu before the start of the semester. Course syllabi are available on the BU Learning Management System.
Prospective graduate students should apply through the BU Department of Astronomy PhD program.
← Back to Home