| PART I | Reading Assignment (Arny) | |||
| Week 1 | W | Sept. 3 | Introduction to course. | Preview, pp. 1-12. |
| F | Sept. 5 | Diurnal, Annual Motions.Seasons. Precession. Calendar. | Ch. 1, pp. 27-35; Ch. 5, pp. 174-175; Essay 2, pp. 179-186. | |
| Week 2 | M | Sept. 8 | Phases of the Moon. Solar and Lunar Eclipses. Tides. | Ch. 1, pp. 36-39; Ch. 6, pp. 195-196; 199-208. |
| W | Sept. 10 | Celestial Sphere. Cel. Equator. Ecliptic. Horizon, Equatorial coordinate systems. | Ch. 1, pp. 23-26; Essay 1, pp. 66-69. | |
| F | Sept. 12 | Greek Two-Sphere Universe. Retrograde motions of planets. Geocentric Models (Aristotle; Ptolemy | Ch. 1, pp. 39-46. | |
| Week 3 | M | Sept. 15 | Heliocentric Model. Stellar Parallax. Copernicus. | Ch. 1, pp. 46-48. |
| W | Sept. 17 | Brahe and change in heavens. Kepler & Laws of Planetary Motion. | Ch. 1, pp. 48-51. | |
| F | Sept. 19 | Galileo, the Telescope, and the Heliocentric Model. | Ch. 1, pp. 51-53. | |
| Week 4 | M | Sept. 22 | Newtonian synthesis: completion of Scientific Revolution. | Ch. 1, pp. 53-56. |
| W | Sept. 24 | Newton's Laws of Motion, Gravitation. Mass, surface gravity, escape velocity. | Ch. 2, pp. 79-92. | |
| F | Sept. 26 | Light; Electromagnetism. Color-temperature relations (Wien's Law). | Ch. 3, pp. 95-104. | |
| Week 5 | M | Sept. 29 | Continuous, Emission, Absorption Spectra. Doppler Effect. | Ch. 3, pp. 104-115. |
| W | Oct. 1 | Optical Telescopes: Magnifcation, Light Grasp, Resolution. Space Astronomy. Review. | Ch. 4, pp. 119-131; Ch. 3, pp. 115-116; Ch. 4, pp. 136-142. | |
| F | Oct. 3 | EXAM I. | ||
| PART II | ||||
| Week 6 | M | Oct. 6 | Earth: formation, evolution. Radiometric dating. Atmosphere. Magnetosphere. | Ch. 5, pp. 151-155; 164-171. |
| W | Oct. 8 | Earth's interior: composition, structure. Plate Tectonics. | Ch. 5, pp. 155-164. | |
| F | Oct. 10 | Geological features, history of the moon. Origin of moon. | Ch. 6, pp. 187-195; 197-199. | |
| Week 7 | M | Oct. 13 | Comparative Planetology: Terrestrial, Jovian Planets. Solar System formation. | Ch. 7, pp. 221-230; 230-238. |
| W | Oct. 15 | Mercury. Venus: rotation, atmosphere, surface features. | Ch. 8, pp. 239-246; 247-253. | |
| F | Oct. 17 | Mars: volcanoes, canyons, riverbeds. Climate change. Terrestrial planets in perspective. | Ch. 8, pp. 257-265; 265-271. | |
| Week 8 | M | Oct. 20 | Jupiter: atmosphere, interior. Galilean satellites. | Ch. 9, pp. 273-282. |
| W | Oct. 22 | Saturn: structure, rings. Satellites. | Ch. 9, pp. 282-287. | |
| F | Oct. 24 | Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. | Ch. 9, pp. 288-297. | |
| Week 9 | M | Oct. 27 | Comets, meteorites, asteroids. Mass extinctions. | Ch. 10, pp. 301-320. |
| W | Oct. 29 | Extra-solar planets. Review. | Ch. 7, pp. 238-241. | |
| F | Oct. 31 | EXAM II | ||
| PART III | ||||
| Week 10 | M | Nov. 3 | Sun: Properties, Structure. Sunspots. Magnetic Fields. | Ch. 11, pp. 329-335. |
| W | Nov. 5 | Prominences, Flares, Aurorae. Maunder Minimum. | Ch. 11, pp. 341-350. | |
| F | Nov. 7 | Energy Generation: Nuclear Fusion; Solar Neutrinos. | Ch. 11, pp. 335-341. | |
| Week 11 | M | Nov. 10 | Stars: Apparent Magnitudes. Parallaxes, Distances. Absolute Magnitudes. Luminosities. | Ch. 12, pp. 365-366; 355-365. |
| W | Nov. 12 | Binary, Variable Stars. Period-Luminosity Relation. | Ch. 12, pp. 373-377; 382-386. | |
| F | Nov. 14 | Spectral Classification; H-R Diagram. Stellar Mass. | Ch. 12, pp. 366-373; 377-382. | |
| Week 12 | M | Nov. 17 | Interstellar Matter; Star Formation. | Ch. 13, pp. 389-398. |
| W | Nov. 19 | Stellar Evolution. Low-mass Stars (Sun). White Dwarfs. | Ch. 13, pp. 398-407; Ch. 14, pp. 419-424. | |
| F | Nov. 21 | Stellar Evolution. Middle-High-mass Stars. Supernovae. Neutron Stars (Pulsars). | Ch. 13, pp. 407-415; Ch. 14, pp. 424-431. | |
| Week 13 | M | Nov. 24 | Black Holes; singularites. Curvature of Space-Time. | Ch. 14, pp. 431-436. |
| W | Nov. 26 | Milky Way Galaxy. Stellar Populations. Open, Globular Clusters. | Ch. 15, pp. 445-461. | |
| F | Nov. 28 | THANKSGIVING RECESS -- NO CLASS | ||
| Week 14 | M | Dec. 1 | Spiral Arm Formation. Elliptical, Spiral Galaxies. Rotation Curves; Dark Matter. | Ch. 15, pp. 463-473; Ch. 16, pp. 479-490; 495-496. |
| W | Dec. 3 | Galaxy Clusters. Interactions. Superclusters/Voids. Radio Astronomy. | Ch. 16, pp. 504-509; Ch. 4, pp. 131-135; Ch. 15, pp. 462-463. | |
| F | Dec. 5 | Active Galaxies: Radio Gals., Seyfert Gals., Quasars. Gravitational Lenses. | Ch. 16, pp. 496-504. | |
| Week 15 | M | Dec. 8 | Doppler Effect. Velocity-Distance Relation. Expansion of the Universe (Hubble's Law). | Ch. 16, pp. 490-495; Ch. 17, pp. 513-521. |
| W | Dec. 10 | Cosmic Background Radiation. Fate(s) of the Universe.Inflationary Universe. | Ch. 17, pp. 521-524; 529-535. | |
| F | Dec. 12 | Acceleration. Dark Energy. Course Evaluation. Review. | Ch. 17, pp. 524-528. | |
| Week 16 | Sat. | Dec 20 | Final Exam: 10:05 a.m. | Location: TBA |
Note: Additional copies of the Course Information, Course Outline, and Homework Assignment handouts are available in the course racks outside Room 5517 Sterling.