Professor: Jerome A. Orosz

Textbook: Perspectives on Astronomy, First Edition, by Michael A. Seeds and Dana Backman.

Click here for the syllabus. Click here for a PDF version.

Click here for class notes from September 1 (class #1). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from September 3 (class #2). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from September 8 (class #3). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from September 10 (class #4). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from September 15 (class #5). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from September 17 (class #6). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from September 22 (class #7). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from September 24 (class #8). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for a PDF version of the review sheet for exam 1. Click here for a PDF version of the sample exam for exam 1.

Click here for class notes from September 29 (class #9). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from October 8 (class #12). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for the answer key to exam 1, form A. Click here for the answer key to exam 1, form B. Click here for the answer key to exam 1, form C.

Click here for class notes from October 13 (class #13). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from October 15 (class #14). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from October 20 (class #15). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from October 22 (class #16). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from October 27 (class #17). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from October 29 (class #18). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from November 3 (class #19). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for a PDF version of the review sheet for exam 2. Click here for a PDF version of the sample exam for exam 2.

Click here for class notes from November 12 (class #22). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for the answer key to exam 2, form A. Click here for the answer key to exam 2, form B. Click here for the answer key to exam 2, form C.

Click here for class notes from November 17 (class #23). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from November 19 (class #24). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from November 24 (class #25). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from December 1 (class #26). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from December 3 (class #27). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for a PDF version of the review sheet for exam 3. Click here for a PDF version of the sample exam for exam 3.

Click here for class notes from December 8 (class #28). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from December 10 (class #29). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Assigned question due September 10: Question 13 from Chapter 2 (Why are the seasons reversed in the southern hemisphere relative to the northern hemisphere?).

Assigned question due September 17: Question 9 from Chapter 3 (Review Galileo's telescope discoveries and explain why they supported the Copernican model and contradicted the Ptolemaic model.)

Assigned question due September 24: Question 3 from Chapter 4 (Why do nocturnal animals usually have large pupils in their eyes? How is that related to the design of astronomical telescopes?)

Assigned question due October 15: Question 7, Chapter 6 (Why does the luminosity of a star depend on both its radius and temperature?)

Assigned question due October 22: Question 4, Chapter 8 (How can star clusters confirm astronomers' theories of stellar evolution?)

Assigned question due October 29: Question 15, Chapter 8 (How are neutron stars and white dwarfs similar? How do they differ?)

Assigned question due November 19: Question 3, Chapter 9 (How can astronomers use Cepheid variable stars to find distances?)

Assigned question due November 24: Question 7, Chapter 10 (How is the rotation curve method for determining galaxy masses related to binary stars and Kepler's third law?)

Assigned question due December 3: Question 1, Chapter 11 (How does the darkness of the night sky tell you something about the Universe?)

Assigned question due December 10: Question 4, Chapter 12 (According to the solar nebula theory, why is the Sun's equator nearly in the plane of the Earth's orbit?)

Here are some useful Astronomy links for learning specific introductory concepts:

A JAVA applet for plotting blackbody curves. Needs a JAVA-enabled browser.

Kepler's Laws animation. Also, try out the tool for demonstrating epicycles.

Build a scale model of the Solar System.

JAVA applets from the University of British Columbia demonstrating the 1/r^2 law, the Doppler effect, parallax, and black body radiation.

Spectral types of stars from The University of Manchester.

Orbits in strong gravitational fields.

The Solar System Simulator from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Black Holes with JAVA by Peter Musgrave.

On-line Astronomy notes and resources:

Windows to the Universe from the University of Michigan.

Nick Strobel's Astronomy Notes.

From the University of Tennessee: Astronomy 161, The Solar System, and Astronomy 162, Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology.

Astronomy pictures links:

The Astronomy picture of the day.

NASA pages, including the "the Hubble Site", the Hubble Space Telescope "Hubble Heritage Project", and the Space Science Image Gallary.

Pictures from the European Southern Observatory.

Links related to pseudoscience:

Phil Plait's "Bad Astronomy" page, discussing common misconceptions, shooting down conspiracy theories, etc.

Professor Welsh's page from ASTRO 310.

Return to Jerome Orosz's Home Page