AST 101: INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY

Spring 2007

Syllabus

Lecture: MWF, 10:40-11:35 AM Room: ESS 001

Instructor: Frederick M. Walter (ESS 459; 632-8232; fwalter at astro.sunysb.edu)

TA: TBA

Syllabus revised 22 January, 2007

Lect. Month Day Chapter Topic
I. Preliminaries
1 Jan 22   Organization & Introduction;
Where We Are
2 Jan 24 1, Appendix C Can't get Theah from Heah; Scales of the Universe
  Jan 26   review: The Scientific Method; Scientific Notation
3 Jan 29 S1 Where am I? What Time is it?
4 Jan 31 2 This is the Age of Aquarius
  Feb 2   discussion: Does Astrology Work?
5 Feb 5 3 The History of Astronomy. Part 1.
6 Feb 7 3,4 Eppur si muove
  Feb 9   discussion: Is there a conflict between science and religion?
7 Feb 12 4 What's the Matter?
8 Feb 14 4 A Matter of Gravity
  Feb 16   review: The physics you need to know
9 Feb 19 5 The Light of Your Life
10 Feb 21 6 My, what big eyes you have!
  Feb 23 1-6, S1 Test 1
II. The Sun and the Stars
11 Feb 26 14 The Sun
12 Feb 28 15 The Stars
  Mar 2   discussion: Is global warming real, is it a threat, and who's to blame?
13 Mar 5 16 Lives of the Stars
14 Mar 7 16,17 The Once and Future Sun
  Mar 9   discussion: Is there a future for Life on Earth?
15 Mar 12 17,18 The Deaths of the Stars
16 Mar 14 18 The Stellar Graveyard
  Mar 16   A Night at the Telescope:
What Astronomers really do
III. Planets
17 Mar 19 7*, 8*, 12* Is Pluto a Planet?
18 Mar 21 13* Solar Systems
  Mar 23 14-18 Test 2
19 Mar 26 9*, 10*, 11* Barsoom
20 Mar 28 24 Kang, Klingons, and Klaatu
  Mar 30   discussion: Is there a role for Man in space?
IV. Galaxies and the Universe
21 Apr 9 19 Discovery of the Galaxy
22 Apr 11 17, 19 Galactic Ecology
  Apr 13   discussion: Are UFOs evidence for visitations by extraterrestrials?
23 Apr 16 20 The Realm of the Nebulae
24 Apr 18 21 When Galaxies Collide
  Apr 20   Review: stars and galaxies
25 Apr 23 S3 Why is the Night Sky Dark?
26 Apr 25 23 In the Beginning
  Apr 27   discussion: Was the universe made, or did it just happen?
27 Apr 30 22 The Dark Side
28 May 2 23 The End of the Universe
29 May 4   Summary
  May 9 1-6, 14-24, S1, S3 Final Exam. 8:00-10:30AM


Links to lecture notes are here

Chapters refer to the course textbook, The Cosmic Perspective, Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology, 4th edition, by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit. Chapters followed by as asterisk (e.g., 7*) are found in The Cosmic Perspective, but not in your required text. These chapters are not required reading, and will be supplemented in the on-line lecture notes. Chapters differ slightly in earlier editions. Chapters should be read prior to the lecture.

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