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 January 17 (class #1). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from January 25 (class #2). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from January 24 (class #3). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from January 29 (class #4). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from January 31 (class #5). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from February 5 (class #6). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from February 7 (class #7). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from February 12 (class #8). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from February 14 (class #9). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from February 19 (class #10). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from February 26 (class #12). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from February 28 (class #13). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from March 5 (class #14). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from March 7 (class #15). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from March 12 (class #16). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from March 14 (class #17). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Class notes from March 19 (class #18). Click here for a PDF version (9 PowerPoint pages per physical page). Click here for a PowerPoint version.
Chapter 1 homework due January 29: Question 15 (Why is it warmer in the summer than in winter?).
Chapter 2 homework due February 5: Question 11 (In what ways did the astronomical observations of Galileo support a heliocentric cosmology?).
Chapter 3 homework due February 19: Question 4 (What are the three main functions of a telescope?).
Chapter 4 homework due March 5: Question 5 (Describe four methods for discovering exoplanets.).
Chapter 5 homework due March 12: Question 4 (Why is Earth's surface not riddled with craters as is that of the Moon?).
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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