Astronomy
Course Syllabus
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Course Syllabus for Astronomy
Astronomy Syllabus: Homework, Reading Assignments, Discussion Topics, and Labs
Use the Links in the Homework column to find your homework assignment. Homework is usually due on the date given, unless otherwise stated in the assignment.
| Week | Date | Chapter | Topic | Lab | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Date | Chapter | Topic | Lab | |
| 1 | Sep 3, 2019 | HW00 | Introduction to Course: Methods and online Resources | Lab Reports | |
| 2 | Sep 10, 2019 | HW01 | 1.1-8 | Astronomy and the Universe | Observing Techniques |
| 3 | Sep 17, 2019 | HW02A | 2.1-4 | Knowing the Heavens | Observing Constellations |
| 4 | Sep 24, 2019 | HW02B | 2.5-8 | Finding your way around the year | Observing Using Coordinate Systems |
| 5 | Oct 1, 2019 | HW03 | 3.1-6 | Eclipses and the Motion of the Moon | Observing the Moon |
| 6 | Oct 8, 2019 | HW04A | 4.1-4 | Gravitation | Planetary Orbits |
| 7 | Oct 15, 2019 | HW04B | 4.5-8 | Derivation of Kepler's Laws | Determining the Mass of Jupiter |
| 8 | Oct 22, 2019 | HW05A | 5:1-4 | The Wave Nature of Light | Spectroscopy |
| 9 | Oct 29, 2019 | HW05B | 5.5-9 | The Particle Nature of Light | Refraction and Reflection |
| 10 | Nov 5, 2019 | HW06 | 6 | Optics and the Telescope | Telescopes |
| 11 | Nov 12, 2019 | HW07 | 7 | Comparative Planetology 1 | Observing Mercury and Venus |
| 12 | Nov 19, 2019 | HW08 | 8 | Comparative Planetology 2 | Observing Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn |
| 13 | Nov 26, 2019 | HW09 | 9 | The Living Earth: Geology [Terrestrial Plate Tectonics and Atmosphere] | Earth's Rocks |
| 14 | Dec 3, 2019 | HW10 | 10 | Our Barren Moon [Surface Features w/o plate tectonics or erosion] | Crater Formation |
| 15 | Dec 10, 2019 | HW11 | 11 | Mercury, Venus, and Mars [Planetary core structures and planetary development] | The Greenhouse Effect |
| 16 | Dec 17, 2019 | Focus on Terrestrial Planets | |||
| Dec 24, 2019 | CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY | ||||
| Dec 31, 2019 | NEW YEAR's HOLIDAY | ||||
| 17 | Jan 7, 2020 | HW12 | 12 | Jupiter and Saturn [Atmospheres II] | Differential Rotation |
| 18 | Jan 14, 2020 | HW13 | 13 | Jupiter and Saturn's Satellites: Moons, Rings and Tidal Forces | Ice Under Pressure |
| 19 | Jan 21, 2020 | HW14 | 14 | Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and the Kuiper Belt; Roche Limit | Observation of Jupiter's Moons |
| 20 | Jan 28, 2020 | HW15 | 15 | Vagabonds of the Solar System | Comet Observations |
| 21 | Feb 4, 2020 | REVIEW and EXAM | NO LAB | ||
| 22 | Feb 11, 2020 | HW16 | 16 | Our Star, the Sun | Sunspots |
| 23 | Feb 18, 2020 | HW17 | 17 | The Nature of the Stars | Stellar Motions and Distances |
| 24 | Feb 25, 2020 | HW18 | 18 | The Birth of Stars | Stellar Spectra |
| 25 | Mar 3, 2020 | HW19 | 19 | Stellar Evolution: On and After the Main Sequence | Stellar Evolution |
| 26 | Mar 10, 2020 | What we can learn from starlight | |||
| 27 | Mar 17, 2020 | HW20 | 20 | Stellar Evolution: Death of Stars | Variable stars - Period Luminosity Relationships |
| 28 | Mar 24, 2020 | HW21 | 21 | Black Holes | Binary Stars |
| 29 | Mar 31, 2020 | HW22 | 22 | Our Galaxy | Observing HII Regions |
| 30 | Apr 7, 2020 | Holy Week Holiday | |||
| Apr 14, 2020 | HW23 | 23 | Galaxies | Classifying Normal Galaxies | |
| 31 | Apr 21, 2020 | HW24 | 24 | Quasars and Active Galaxies | Classifying Active Galaxies |
| 32 | Apr 28, 2020 | HW25 | 25 | Cosmology | Hubble's Law |
| 33 | May 5, 2020 | HW26 | 26 | The Early Universe | The Curvature of Space |
| 34 | May 12, 2020 | HW27 | 27 | The Search for Extra Terrestrial Life | The Search For ExoPlanets |
| 35 | May 19, 2020 | Current events in astronomy | |||
| 36 | May 26, 2020 | REVIEW and EXAM | |||
| 6-Jun |
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