Astrophysics for the Rest of Us: Physics of Stars

Astrophysics is not just pretty pictures. What happens when we go beyond awe and start asking why stars must behave the way they do?

Astrophysics for the Rest of Us: Physics of Stars invites you to explore stellar physics from first principles — not as a list of disconnected facts, but as a logical unfolding of what must happen when light and matter interact under the rules of physics.

We’ll begin with the most basic question — what does it mean to “see” a star? — and walk step by step through how we extract physical information from starlight. From photons falling into telescopes to the fingerprints of atoms in spectra, you’ll learn how observations become constraints on temperature, composition, structure, and energy flow inside stars.

This course doesn’t assume you’re a physicist. What it assumes is that you’re curious, thoughtful, and willing to slow down and think things through. We emphasize conceptual understanding, plain language, and building your own reasoning from the ground up. You’ll walk in the shoes of astronomers, wrestle with stellar puzzles, and come away with a deep, working intuition for how stellar astrophysics actually works.

Whether you’re preparing for more advanced coursework, teaching others, or simply hungry to understand stars for yourself, this is your starting point.

Note: this material is intended as a required resource for a college course.