Astro 120: Fall 2008

The Sky and the Solar System

Prof. Steven Kawaler

Astro 120, an introductory course in modern astronomy for non-scientists, folliows the growth of our understanding of our solar system (and the Universe) from ancient times through modern times. The development of astronomy over the millenia will serve as an illustration of the history of science itself. We begin with a study of the sky (night and day): we will learn the constellations, study the motions of the Sun, moon, and planets, and review the reasons for the seasons, eclipses, and tides, and the genesis of the modern calendar. We then begin exploring the bodies of our solar system -- the sun, the planets and their satellites, and comets, asteroids, and meteorites. We then address the bigger questions about the origin and evolution of our solar system, and discuss the hundreds of recently-discovered other solar systems in our Galaxy. We conclude with a discussion of the possibility of life beyond the Earth.

Throughout the course, we will be looking at the many exciting results from NASA probes, as well using the ISU planetarium.

A poem...

Announcements

Homework 10 is now available. It is due in recitation on December 5/8.
Direct imaging of planets around another star from the Astronomy Picture of the Day.
First image of an extrasolar planetary system - APOD November 17, 2008
New views of the very early Earth
Some more music for Astro 120 - boy, I wish I had found this sooner - could have tortured all of the students for a whole term! Try out 'Longitude and Latitude' for a sample. This does have the original version of "Why Does the Sun Shine" though.
Astronomy Picture of the Day for November 18: the first view of the Earth from the Moon, 1966
Final Exam: The day and time for the final exam is now set: Tuesday, December 16, 4:30-6:30
I note with sadness the passing of Prof. Edwin Salpeter. Ed was one of the great physicists of the 20th century, whose work in astrophysics included the discovery of the way that stars burn helium, crystallization of white dwarf matter, and the rate of star formation as a function of mass (among many other singular accomplishments). He was a brilliant but gentle soul who I only knew briefly as an undergrad at Cornell - but his impact has been much stronger on my professional career. One of his grad students was Hugh Van Horn, who was my thesis advisor's thesis advisor. This made Ed my great grand-prof (as he put it).

"Everyday" things for class...

Here is the syllabus for Astro 120 this term.
Homework assignments (new ones issued on most Thursdays during the term)
Electronic versions of lecture notes
Reading Assignments
related links
The Astro Help Room.
Constellation and Star list
A terrific computer planetarium program, Stellarium is a free download - it is the same program we use to run the planetarium projector, so you might find it a useful program to run on your own computer.
Predictions for visible satellite passages for Ames, IA

Items from earlier in the course

WWW-based reading for Tuesday, November 18, class
EXAM 2: was on Thursday, November 13, from 6:30-8:00PM
- Essay question for the second exam
- Here is a review sheet with topics for the second exam
- Here is practice exam (multiple choice only) (and here are the answers)
Please note: the Course Outline has been modified for the dates November 6, 11, and 18.
Homework 9 was a bit different than the other homeworks - click on the link to see what is up. It counts as two homeworks. It was due in recitation on 11/7,10 and your participation in recitation was strongly advised...
Homework 8 was due in recitation on October 31/November 3.
The Sount Pole of Saturn: Astronomy Picture of the Day for Monday, October 27.
Midterm grade estimates are available on WebCT. This is an estimate of the grade you would get if Astro 120 ended just after Exam 1. It is based on your exam grade (75%) and your recitation work (25%).
Homework 7 was due in recitation on October 24/27.
A crater in the North Polar Cap on Mars
Homework 6 was due in recitation on October 17/20.
The strange Saturnian moon Enceladus was the Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 14.
MESSENGER spacecraft flew by Mercury on Monday, Oct. 6, getting as close as 125 miles (not kilometers!) in a gravity assist maneuver leading towards reaching orbit in March 2011.
Asteroid explodes in Earth's atmosphere - October 7.
Homework 5 was due in recitation on October 10/13.
EXAM 1 was on Thursday Evening, October 2
Exam Room assignments are here
- Here is the essay question for Exam 1
- Review sessions were held during regular lecture times on Thursday, October 2.
- Exam 1 Review notes
- Exam 1 sample questions
  - and here are the sample answers
Homework 4 was due in recitation on September 26/29.
Reading for Thursday, September 25: Here is the short web-based article on transfer orbits.
A titanic collision of planets around another star system!
Happy Autumnal Equinox!
Hazards of "equinox driving":
- Be careful driving around sunset for the next few weeks...
- accidents caused by the Sun
Homework 3 was due in recitation on September 19/22.
Possible "Bad Science" Moment: ABC-TV aired a Primetime special: UFOs: Seeing is Believing on Tuesday evening, September 16. If you have 90 minutes to waste, you might want to watch the show and see if it qualifies for the "bad science TV of the month" award...
Homework 2 was due in recitation on September 12/15.
Homework 1 was due in recitation on September 5/8.
What really makes the world go 'round...

EXAMS
The exam dates and times are as follows. Please note them in your calendars:

Exam 1: Thursday, October 2, 2008; 6:30-8:00PM
Exam 2: Thursday, November 13, 2008; 6:30-8:00PM
Exam 3: Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 4:30-6:30PM

Exam room assignments (Exams 1 and 2):

TA Sections Times Exam room
Michelle Risse 4, 5 Fri 11,12 Gilman 1652
Bert Pablo 12, 13, 14, 15 Mon. 11, 12, 1, 2 Gilman 1352
Riley Smith 2, 3, 10, 11 Fri. 9, 10; M 9, 10 Gilman 1002

TA	Sections	Times	Exam room
Michelle Risse	4, 5	Fri 11,12	Gilman 1652
Bert Pablo	12, 13, 14, 15	Mon. 11, 12, 1, 2	Gilman 1352
Riley Smith	2, 3, 10, 11	Fri. 9, 10; M 9, 10	Gilman 1002

A word about the textbook for this class: it can be one of several versions of The Cosmic Perspective, Fifth Edition, by Bennett et al:

If you are taking only Astro 120 then buy just The Solar System, which is Volume 1 of The Cosmic Perspective.

click for a bigger version

Or if you have an interest in other astronomical topics, you might want to buy the complete The Cosmic Perspective, as the complete version includes the contents of Volume 2 - Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology

click for a bigger version

Note: the "Media Update" version is okay, too.

If you have a new version of the text, you will have access to the Mastering Astronomy companion website to the book. To access the tutorials and other demos, you will need the course name within that site. It is Astro120Fall08

To Prof. Steven Kawaler's page

To ISU Astronomy