Through examples that are easy to understand for everyone, we will learn how Astronomy - the most ancient science that deals with measuring the celestial objects, developed and gave birth to astrophysics - one of the newest sciences that investigates the functioning of stars and the universe according to physical rules. In the first lecture we will learn about astronomical distances, the cosmic distance scale, the qualities of stars and their evolution and about the history of the universe. In the second lecture we will learn to do simple calculations: how to measure and estimate distances, temperatures and sizes of stars and planets.