Please note this announcement  gives the titles only for the 2012/13 examinations. Essay descriptions will be provided as soon as possible.

In accordance with Regulations 30 (Astrophysics) of the Natural Sciences Tripos (Statutes and Ordinances, p 403), the Director of the Institute of Astronomy gives notice that each candidate shall submit an essay on one of the following subjects:

• Finding terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of nearby stars
   
• The Universality of the Stellar Initial Mass Function
   
• Type-Ia supernovae as cosmological probes
   

Each candidate must inform the Director by Friday, 15 March 2013 of the essay subject he or she has chosen, and must submit the essay so as to reach the Director by Thursday, 2 May 2013.