<p>are astrophysics and astronomy major basically the same? if not what are the differences?</p>
<p>Both are really the same: Astronomy is part of physics.</p>
<p>My former astrophysics professor would beg to differ. He insisted that he was only teaching astrophysics and his colleagues were teaching the astronomy courses. I think he drew a distinction between the theoretical (astrophysics) and the observational (astronomy) branches of the subject.</p>
<p>But it seems like this is more of a historical distinction and that in practice astronomy and astrophysics majors should be very similar if not identical.</p>