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Astronomy of the Southern Skies | |
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Astronomy of the Southern Skies | |
Physics
112 January 2005
Gustavus Adolphus College
Syllabus - December Version
Instructors: Drs.
Charles F. Niederriter, Carey Freeth, William Zealey,
Ms. Joni Blackman, and Ms. Julie Blackman
Textbook: Universe
, Kaufmann and Freedman, Freeman Press 7th Edition
Lab
Text: Astronomy Lab Manual, Gustavus
Star Chart:
Southern Sky Planisphere
Course
Policy and Evaluation
1.
Class Times:
The course will run from 3rd January through to the 28th January:
Mornings, from 9:00 to 12:00, will be occupied with formal lecture/,
seminar presentations and practical work. Early
afternoons will be available for computer based practical work and group
projects. About 7 videos will be
shown during the workshop. These have been selected to be most applicable to the
topics dealt with in the course. Evening
observing as weather permits.
2.
Evaluation:
Exams
50%
A 94 - 100
C+ 74 - 78
Laboratory
15%
A- 90 - 94
C 70
- 74
Homework
15%
B+ 86 - 90
C- 66 - 70
Group Work
10%
B 82 - 86
D+ 62
- 66
Observing
10%
B- 78 - 82
D 58
- 62
F
0 - 58
Assignment of final letter grades will also take
into account the instructors' subjective evaluation of the student's attendance,
initiative, class participation, preparation, and evidence of improvement.
3. Objectives, Goals, and Expectations:
This course is intended to lead students to an understanding and
appreciation of the Universe.
Astronomy and Astrophysics is an observationally driven science. The ever
changing relationship between observations and their interpretation is stressed
throughout the course. There have been clear periods when
observational astronomy has driven theoretical astronomy and others where
the roles have been reversed. This course is
designed to illustrate the methods used by scientists (particularly astronomers)
and to describe how these methods have changed over the course of history.
The student will learn about the relationships between observations and
theories by studying examples from astronomy and physics.
In this course we will also discuss the relationships between science and
mathematics, science and religion, and science and society.
At
the end of the course students should be able to:
o describe the major astronomical sources observed in the Universe and their characteristics
The student beginning this course will be expected to understand basic
mathematical principles such as those taught in high school algebra and
geometry. During the course of the
semester, algebra and geometry will be used extensively to discuss physical
processes. The student will also be
introduced to some concepts in trigonometry to illustrate the connection between
mathematics and science but the student is not expected to use trigonometry to
solve any problems. It is hoped
that over the course of the semester the math skills of most students will
improve as a result of the assignments in this course.
4.
Laboratories:
1:
Dance of the Planets
2:
The rotation of Mercury
3:
Lenses and Telescope optics
4:
Spectroscopy
5:
Comparative planetology: The surface of Mars
6:
Jupiter's Moons
7:
Photometry of the Pleiades
8:
Classification of Stellar Spectra
9:
Multi wavelength observations using SKYVIEW and other image data bases ( e.g.
MSX, IRAS)
10:
ESO/UKST Sky Survey experiment
11:
Radio astronomy of Pulsars
13
:Hubble's Law
14:Large Scale Structure - Where the Galaxies Are
5.
Course Content and Tentative Schedule:
Saturday
1st
Arrive in Christchurch.
Time
to settle into accommodation (Tour of Christchurch)
Sunday 2nd
Day at Leisure or Tour of Christchurch Area
Monday
3rd
Ancient Observatories and Archeoastronomy, Rising/setting of stars and
planets, Seasons
Tuesday
4th
Motion and Phases of the Moon, Eclipses, Gravity, History of Science
Wednesday
5th Matter
and Light, Optics, Telescopes, CCDs
Thursday 6th
Overview of the Solar System and Earth, Atmosphere, Magnetic Field, Plate
Tectonics, ExtraSolar Planets
Friday
7th
Moon and Mercury: Features, Structure, Formation, Evolution
Saturday 8th
Trip to Hamner Springs – Hot Springs and Ski Resort
Sunday
9th
Day at leisure
Monday 10th
Venus, Mars, & Jupiter: Features,
Structure, Formation, Evolution
Lab
5 – Lunar Features, etc.
Tuesday
11th The
Outer Planets, moons, and rings, Comets, Meteors
Wednesday
12th
Exam 1, The Sun: Features, Structure, Formation, Evolution
Thursday
13th Stars:
Measuring Temperature, Radius, Mass, HR Diagram, Birth of Stars
Friday
14th
Field trip to Mt. John Observatories, Mt. Cook, Queenstown, Te
Anau,
Milford Sound, Fox Glacier and West Coast.
Wednesday
19th
Return to Christchurch
Thursday
20th Main
Sequence Evolution, Death of Stars
Friday
21st
Neutron Stars, Suprnovae, Black Holes
Friday
21st
Field trip to Nelson Area, Abel Tasman National Park
Sunday
23rd Return
to Christchurch
Monday
24th The
Milky Way Galaxy, A Universe of Galaxies
Tuesday
25th Quasars,
Active Galaxies, Gamma Ray Bursters, etc.
Wednesday
26th
Cosmology, The Beginning of the Universe, The Big Questions
Life,
The Universe
Thursday
27th Review,
Final Exam
Friday
28tth
Day at leisure, Dinner BBQ
Australia Trips and
Activities in the works:
Hang
Gliding