Professor: Jerome A. Orosz
Textbook: Discovering the Essential Universe, Fifth Edition, by Niel F. Comins.
Click here for the syllabus. Click here for a PDF version.
Class notes from August 28 (class #1). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from August 30 (class #2). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from September 4 (class #3). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from September 6 (class #4). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from September 11 (class #5). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from September 13 (class #6). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from September 18 (class #7). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from September 20 (class #8). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from September 25 (class #9). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Click here for the study guide for exam 1.
Class notes from October 2 (class #11). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from October 4 (class #12). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from October 9 (class #13). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from October 11 (class #14). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from October 16 (class #15). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from October 18 (class #16). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from October 23 (class #17). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from October 25 (class #18). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from October 30 (class #19). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from November 6 (class #21). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from November 8 (class #22). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from November 13 (class #23). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Chapter 1 homework due September 6: Question 15, Chapter 1
Chapter 2 homework due September 18: Question 11, Chapter 2 (In what ways did the astronomical observations of Galileo support a heliocentric cosmology?)
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.
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