Astro 103 Lectures

The Evolving Universe: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology
Professor Matthew Bershady
Lec-2 1:20-2:10 PM
MW STERLING 1310


Part I:   An Astronomical Framework
Week # Date LectureReading & Quizzes
1 1 Wed, Sep 7 Introduction & Tour of the Cosmos
Text: Ch.1 (all) scientific notation;
Ch.1.4-1.6 optional
2 2 Mon, Sep 12 History: From heresy to gravity
Text: Ch. 2 (all), Ch.16 MP*16-1
Web: Assignment #1
3 Wed, Sep 14 Particles, waves, blackbodies, and lines
Text: Ch. 3 (all)
3 4 Mon, Sep 19 Cosmic chemistry
Text: Ch. 4 (all)
Quiz #1 in Discussion
5 Wed, Sep 21 Light buckets
Text: Ch. 5 (all)
Quiz #1 in Discussion
4 6 Mon, Sep 26 Sol
Text: Ch. 16 (all)
Web: Assignment #2
7 Wed, Sep 28 Stellar Types
Text: Ch. 17 (all), Ch. 1.6, MP*1-1,1-2
5 8 Mon, Oct 3 The Physical Properties of Stars
Text: Chs. 17 (all)
Quiz #2 in Discussion
9 Wed, Oct 5 Review
Quiz #2 in Discussion
6 Mon, Oct 10 First Exam : Lectures 1-9
Web: Assignment #3


Part II:   From Stars to Quasars

Week # Date Lecture Reading & Quizzes
6 10 Wed, Oct 12 Star: Environs and Formation
Text: Chs. 18 and 19 (all)
Web: Assignment #3
7 11 Mon, Oct 17 Stellar guts
Text: Chs. 16.1-16.3, 20.1-20.3, MP*16-1,16-2
Quiz #3 in Discussion
12 Wed, Oct 19 Aging gracefully
Text: Ch. 20 (all), Ch. 21.1
Quiz #3 in Discussion
8 13 Mon, Oct 24 End game I: Explosion
Text: Ch. 21 (all)
Web: Assignment #4
14 Wed, Oct 26 End game II: Collapse
Text: Ch. 22 (all)
9 15 Mon, Oct 31 The Milky Way
Text: Ch. 23.1-23.4, 23.7
Web: Assignment #5
Quiz #4 in Discussion
16 Wed, Nov 2 Spatial Structure and Stellar Populations
Text: Ch. 23 (all)
Quiz #4 in Discussion
10 10 Mon, Nov 7 The galaxy manifold
Text: Ch. 24.1
Quiz #5 in Discussion
18 Wed, Nov 9 Giant black holes
Text: Chs. 22.5-22.8, 24.4-24.5
Quiz #5 in Discussion
11 19 Mon, Nov 14 Quasars: Evolution or revelation?
Text: Ch. 25.3-25.4
Wed, Nov 16 Second Exam: Lectures 10-19 review


Part III:   Cosmology
Week # Date Lecture Reading & Quizzes
12 22 Mon, Nov 21 Rotation, mass and interaction
Text: Chs. 23.3, 23.6, 24 (all), 25.1-25.2
Web: Assignment #6
23 Wed, Nov 23 Formation & evolution
Text: Ch. 23.4, 25.3-25.4
13 24 Mon, Nov 28 Hubble's bubble and cosmic spikes
Text: Ch. 24.2-24.3, MP*24-1, 25 (all), 26.1-26.2
Quiz #6 in Discussion
25 Wed, Nov 30 Is the expansion real?
Text: Ch. 26 (all)
Quiz #6 in Discussion
14 26 Mon, Dec 5 Big Bang or Steady State?
Text: Ch. 26 (all)
Web: Assignment #7
27 Wed, Dec 7 Open, closed, or critical?
Text: Ch. 26 (all)
15 28 Mon, Dec 12 The early universe
Text: Ch. 27 (all)
Quiz #7 in Discussion
29 Wed, Dec 14 The meta-universe
Text: Ch. 27 (all)
Quiz #7 in Discussion
Sun, Dec 18, 2011 Final Exam - Lecture 2 7:45 AM - 9:45 AM
BASCOM 165

* MP = More Precisely
Last updated: 23 Aug 2011   Matthew Bershady