Astronomy 1001 Section 1

Astronomy 1001: Exploring the Universe   Section 1, Fall semester 2015 Prof. Roberta M. Humphreys, McNamara Suite 160, Office 146-1, tel. 624-6530  Lectures: 9:45 – 11:00 am Tues. Thurs, Anderson Hall 210.  Office hours: by appointment -- I will usually be in class at least 5 minutes before lecture and can stay afterwards for several minutes. These are good times to take care of most questions. For routine questions about course material and labs, please ask a TA first (see below). E-mail: roberta@umn.edu Warning: Don’t rely on e-mail for important or urgent questions. The inflow rate has become far too large.

TA office hours, Hours will be posted on the doors outside lab rooms.

Textbook: Recommended Book – Discovering the Essential Universe by Neil Comins. Any recently published introductory astronomy text however will be satisfactory. I recommend used and paperback copies for the best price.  Note that exams are based on my lectures. So attend class and take notes. The textbook is useful for studying and review.  Web page for Ast 1001 http://www.astro.umn.edu/courses/1001/ Book for the lab exercises: Astronomy 1001/1011H Laboratory Manual 2015-2016, a local production available in the university bookstore.Concerning the lab part of this course:

  1. Labs are quite separate from the lectures. 2. Get a copy of the Astronomy 1001-1011H Laboratory Manual 2013-2014, at the university bookstore. Since this book is a local production, other stores won’t have it.  3. Important: Part of the lab course is an “observational project” concerning the Moon. Read about it and start observing the Moon as soon as possible! If you fall behind in this project, there honestly is no way to catch up. (Note that the Moon is NEW on Sept 13 and will not be visible. A crescent moon will be visible in the west right after sunset about Sept 15 -16. ) 4. A schedule for lab activities is appended to this syllabus.

Grading: Officially we use the following recipe for final scores and grades.

First mid-semester exam … 160 pts.16% Second exam … 160 16 % Final exam … 300 30 % 12 labs … 240 24 % Observational project … 140 14 %

However, in effect the exams are even more important than these score-numbers indicate, for a statistical reason that will be mentioned in class.

Grading will be based on a “modified curve”. Anyone earning 90% or better will earn an A- or higher. 50% is required to pass (D or better) and 60% for a C- or better. If you’re taking the course S/N, then a grade of ‘S’ will mean “C- or better (60%). Note: Furthermore, to get a passing grade you must earn 50% of the lab points (120/240) and 50% of the Obs. project points (70/140) and take all 3 exams. Exam dates: Dates for the two mid-semester exams have not been finalized yet but they will most likely be Oct 15 but could be the week after, when I have finished the solar system and the week of Nov 17, when I have finished lecturing on stars. The correct dates will be announced in class at least a week in advance. In each case the rooms used for the exam will be announced in class. The final will be given ; Mon. Dec 21, 1:30 – 3:30 pm, room TBD

Academic standards: The CLA and CSE scholastic conduct and classroom procedures will be followed. You are responsible for knowing these, see the university website. Students are welcome to work together, exchange ideas, etc. But for the Observational Project you must do your own measurements and calculations.Exam procedures: Room assignments for the exams will be announced beforehand in class, Bring two pencils and a photo ID to each exam! Exams may include multiple-choice, short- answer, and essay questions. If you miss an exam, see the professor.

All makeups are given on the same day. Date, time and place to be determined. Exam scores will be posted by your course and ID# on the web. If you feel there’s a mistake on the multiple-choice part of an exam, please see the secretary in the astronomy department office, Fraser 345. Questions about essay questions should be directed to the professor.

Environmental theme: This course satisfies the “environmental theme” specified on the university website. It introduces students to a wide range of topics, including physical principles and not just astronomy. One goal is to show the Earth in a broad context with a unique perspective on our home planet and its environment in the universe. In this course we’ll see how science views and interprets the physical world around us.

Ast 1001 Section 1 Professor Humphreys Outline of Lectures   powerpoints will be posted at http://www.astro.umn.edu/courses/1001/ Week Dates Topic(s) Text  1 Sept 8,10 Introduction Ch 1 Historical Perspective Ch. 2 2 Sept 15,17 Appearance of the Night Sky, Motions of Ch.1, 2 the Earth and Moon  3 Sept 22,24 Light, optics and telescopes Ch. 3 pg 50-78 Formation of Solar System, Extrasolar planets Ch.4, 5 4 Sept 29, Oct 1 Terrestrial planets Ch. 6 5 Oct 6, 8 Jovian Planets and their satellites Ch. 7 Minor and dwarf planets, comets, meteors Ch. 8  Friday Oct 9 5pm Moon Obs. Due (3 obs.)

6 Oct 13, 15 Role of Impacts. Ch. 8 First Exam Oct 15, 20??

7 Oct 20, 22 The atom and spectroscopy Ch. 3, pg 79-92 The Sun as a Star Ch. 98 Oct 27, 29 Properties of the stars Ch. 10 9 Nov 3, 5 Star formation, Stellar Evolution Ch. 11 Friday Nov 6 5pm Moon Obs. Due (6 new, 9 total)  10 Nov 10, 12 Star Death - white dwarfs, supernovae, Ch. 12 neutron stars, black holes Second exam week of Nov 17

 11 Nov 17, 19 Second Exam ?, Milky Way Ch. 13 12 Nov 24 Normal Galaxies Ch. 13  13 Dec 1, 3 Galaxies and the distance – redshift relation Ch. 13   14 Dec 8, 10 Origin, evolution, and fate of the Universe Ch 14 Life in the Universe Ch. 15  Friday Dec 11 Moon Project Final Report due 5 pm   15 NO CLASS Dec 15   FINAL EXAM Sect 1 Mon Dec 21, 1:30 – 3:30 pm, room TBD

Week 1 – Sept 8 No Lab  

Week 2 – Sept 14 Lab A Observing the Moon

Week 3 – Sept 21 Lab B Astronomical Distances

Week 4 – Sept 28 Lab C Kepler's Laws

Week 5 – Oct 5 Lab D Telescopes(Oct 9 Moon Project Part 1 Due)

Week 6 – Oct 12 Lab E Impacts from Space

Week 7 – Oct 19 Lab F Extraterrestrial Life

Week 8 – Oct 26 Lab G Energy Flows

Week 9 – Nov 2 Lab H Atomic Spectroscopy(Nov 6 Moon Project Part 2 Due)

Week 10 – Nov 9 Lab I HR-Diagram

Week 11 – Nov 16 Lab J History of Matter

Week 12 – Nov 23 No Labs Thanksgiving

Week 13– Nov 30 Lab K Expansion of the Universe

Week 14 – Dec 7 Lab L Dark Matter(Dec 11 Final Moon Project Due)

Week 15 – Dec 14 No Labs  

Lab Schedule for Ast 1001 Fall 2015 :

Astronomy -- the study of the stars

The Sun and solar system

The Stars -- their birth and death

Galaxies and the Universe

In Astronomy we are concerned with origins and endings ---

Your concepts of space and time will be altered.

Time = Ages

Earth, Sun and Solar System --- 4.5 x 109 yrs

Solar Lifetime --- 10 x 109 yrs

Age of Galaxy (oldest stars) --- ~ 12 x 109 yrs

Age of Universe (expansion age) --- ~ 13 x 109 yrs Space = Distances

Earth – Moon --- 284,400 km ( 240,000 mi)

Earth – Sun --- 150 x 106 km ( 93 million miles)

Solar System (to Pluto) --- 5.9 x 109 km (3.7 billion miles)

Nearest Star --- 4.3 light years ( ~ 41 x 1012 km )

Center of Galaxy --- 27,000 light years ( 256 x 1015 km)

Andromeda Galaxy --- 2.3 x 106 light yrs ( 22 x 1018 km )