| Lecture | Date | Topics | Readings | Assignments |
I: Earth and Sky |
| 1 | M 5/22 |
- Administrative Stuff
- Introduction
- Directions, and Horizons
| Arny pp. 1-40
Cosmos Chpt. 1 | |
| DIS 1 | M 5/22 |
- Horizons and local Coordinate Systems
- Size and Shape of Earth
- Motions of the Sun and Stars
- Movie: Cosmic Voyage
| |
| 2 | T 5/23 |
- The Planets and the Zodiac
- Phases of the Moon
- Synodic and Sidereal Periods
- Solar Eclipses
| |
| 3 | W 5/24 |
- Lunar Eclipses
- Distance and size of Moon and Sun
- Navigation by the Stars
| Arny: Essay 1 p. 57
Essay 2 p. 177 | |
II: History of Astronomy |
| 4 | Th 5/25 |
- Celestial Navigation
- Time Keeping
- Early Timeline
- Ptolemy's Model
- Astrology
| Arny: pp 41-52
Cosmos: Chpts. 3 & 7 | |
| - | M 5/29 | NO CLASS -- Memorial Day | |
| 5 | T 5/30 |
- Copernicus
- Tycho Brahae and Kepler
- Galileo
- Newton
| |
III: Basic Physics |
| 6 | W 5/31 | | Arny: pp. 69-75
Chpt. 2
Chpt. 3 | HW #1 Due |
| 7 | Th 6/1 |
- Light, E&M waves
- Atoms, absorption and emission
- Blackbody radiation
- Spectra
|
| - | F 6/2 | 1st Set of Projects Due by 5pm |
IV: The Solar System and Other Planetary Systems |
| 8 | M 6/5 |
- Telescopes and Detectors
- Overview of the Solar System
| Arny: Chpt. 5
Overview IV
Chpt. 7
| |
| DIS 2 | M 6/5 | | Arny: Overview III
Chpt. 4
Chpt. 6
Chpt. 11 | |
| 9 | T 6/6 |
- Terrestrial Planets
- Mercury
- Venus
- Mars
| Arny: Chpt. 8
Cosmos: Chpt. 5 | |
| 10 | W 6/7 |
- Gas Planets
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Uranus
- Neptune
| Arny: Chpt. 9
Cosmos: Chpt. 6 | HW #2 Due |
| 11 | Th 6/8 |
- Pluto, Comets, Asteroids
- Comet and Asteroid Collisions
- Other known planetary systems, Doppler Effect
- Planetary system formation
| Arny: Chpt. 10
Cosmos: Chpt. 4 | |
| 12 | M 6/12 | MIDTERM EXAM | |
V: Stars |
| DIS 3 | M 6/12 |
- Stars
- distance
- space motions
- binary stars
- masses
- stellar sizes
- temperature/color
- luminosity/brightness
| Arny: Chpt. 12 | |
| 13 | T 6/13 |
- Spectral Types
- HR diagram
- Midterm Postmordem
| | |
| 14 | W 6/14 |
- Stellar Evolution
- birth
- energy generation
- main sequence
- red giants
- white dwarfs
| Arny: Chpt. 13
Arny: Chpt.14
Cosmos: Chpt. 9 | HW #3 Due |
| 15 | Th 6/15 |
- novae
- supernovae/SN remnants
- neutron Stars/pulsars
- black holes
| |
| - | F 6/16 | 2nd Set of Projects Due by 5pm |
| 16 | M 6/19 | | Cosmos: Chpt. 8 | |
| DIS 4 | M 6/19 |
- General Relativity
- Black Holes
- Worm Holes
- Time Travel
| |
VI: The Milky Way Galaxy |
| 17 | T 6/20 |
- Stellar Populations
- ISM
- nebulae
- dust
- Galactic Structure
- Spiral Arms and Galactic Rotation
- Dark Matter (grav lensing)
| Arny: Overview VI
Chpt. 15 | |
VII: Extragalactic Astronomy |
| 18 | W 6/21 |
- Curtis-Shapley Debate
- Other Galaxies: types
- Galaxy Clusters
- Galaxy Evolution
| Arny: Chpt. 16
Arny: Chpt. 17
Cosmos: Chpt. 10 | HW #4 Due |
| 19 | Th 6/22 |
- Expansion of the Universe
- AGN, supermassive black holes
- Gravitational Lensing
- Olbers' paradox
| |
VIII: Cosmology |
| 20 | M 6/26 |
- Big Bang
- Age of the Universe
- Geometry of the Universe
- Fate of the Universe: No Cosmological Constant
| |
| DIS 5 | M 6/26 |
- Fate of the Universe: Cosmological Constant
- Measuring Curvature
- Steady State theory
- CMB
| |
| 21 | T 6/27 |
- Early Universe
- Big Bang Problems
- Inflation
- Origin of the Universe
| |
IX: The Living Universe |
| 22 | W 6/28 |
- Big Bang to Present
- Astrobiology
- SETI
| Arny: Essay 3
Cosmos: Chpts. 2, 11, 12, & 13 | |
| - | Th 6/29 | FINAL EXAM | |
| - | F 6/30 | 3rd Set of Projects Due by 5pm |
