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 January 22 (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 January 24 (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 January 29 (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 January 31 (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 February 7 (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 February 12 (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 February 14 (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 February 19 (class #8). 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 the answer key to exam 1, form D.

Click here for class notes from April 8 (class #20). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from April 10 (class #21). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from April 15 (class #22). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

Click here for class notes from April 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 April 22 (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 April 29 (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 May 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 May 6 (class #27). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.

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

Click here for the review sheet for the final.

Click here for the key to exam 2.

Assigned question due January 31: Question 13 from Chapter 2 (Why are the seasons reversed in the southern hemisphere relative to the northern hemisphere?).

Assigned question due February 7: 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 February 14: Question 2, Chapter 5 (How is the mass of the Sun determined?).

Assigned question due April 24: Question 1, Chapter 11

Assigned question due May 8: Question 5, Chapter 13 (Why doesn't Earth have as many craters at its moon or Venus?)

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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