Internet Address

• http://www.lakeheadu.ca/~physwww/courses/Astro/2310/index.htm

• Lakehead home > Academic Information > Academic Units > Physics > Online resources > Online course material > Year II Astronomy I

Resources

• Text(recommended): Journey to the Cosmic Frontier John D. Fix Will be used for 2330

• Course Web Pages – defines material for which you are responsible

– Assignments, Marks, Tutorials posted

• http://www.astronomynotes.com

Class Structure

• 6:30 Multimedia Extravaganza

• 6:35 Administrative announcements

• 6:40 Sky News

• 7:00 Lecture

• 7:45 Break

• 8:00 Lecture and/or Video

• 9:15 End

Lecture Expectations

• Attendance not mandatory

• Read www notes and text sections before class

• Only required to take notes when written by hand on overhead ( two review notes sessions)

• Please participate with questions and comments

• Do not carry on private conversations during lecture

Outdoor Events

• Telescope viewing of Saturn’s rings .– This will have to wait until mid November

• Possibility of going to an observatory approximately 20 min drive from Thunder Bay

Required Components

• 12 weekly Quizzes ( 25 %)• 3 online Tests (35 %)• Final Exam ( 40 %)• quizzes and tests are to be completed online

using WebCT• Final Exam will be written in person • You must get at least 40% on the exam to

earn a credit

Nutshell Synopsis

• Science Intro

• Earth-Sun-Moon & Celestial Coordinates

• Historical development ( Greeks to Enlightenment )

• Survey of planets (Mercury to Saturn )

• Scientific Model for the origin of the Solar System

Seven Liberal Arts

• Arithmetic

• Geometry

• Logic

• Rhetoric

• History

• Music

• Astronomy

Noun-Verb Analogs

NOUNS• Object

• Sculpture

• Character

• Space

• Location

• Matter

• Particle

• Constellation

VERBS• Process

• Music

• Experience

• Time

• Event

• Energy

• Wave

• Motion

Modern Sciences

Physics

Chemistry

Biology

Geology

Astronomy

Scientific Terms

• Theory – conceptual framework that explainsexisting facts and predicts new ones

• Hypothesis – A tentative theory not yet fully scrutinized

• Falsifiability – A truly scientific theory must be potentially provable to be false– “Fairies exist” not scientific

– “Fairies don’t exist” scientific because it could be disproved by finding a fairy.

Scientific Method

Hypothesis

Prediction

ExperimentObservation

RevisedHypothesis

Scientific Models

• Idealized analogy for a real world system

• Can refer to a physical mechanism (clockwork universe), in essence just an idea

• Validity – Freedom from contradiction

• Power – Range of phenomena

• Aesthetic appeal – Economy of assumption

The Standard Model of the Solar System

• The Earth is one of 9 planets ( massive spherical objects )

• The Sun is a star ( a gigantic ball of very hot gas )

• All the planets move in almost circular paths around the Sun

• These paths are all nearly in the same plane ( The Ecliptic )

• The system is held together by the attractive force of gravity

• All the planets are spinning about an axis of rotation

• For the Earth, the axis of rotation goes through the poles

• The Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted relative to the ecliptic always pointing in the direction of the North Celestial Pole ( near the North Star, Polaris.)

The Bohr Model of the Atom

• Atoms are analogous to the solar system

• The role of the Sun is played by the atomic nucleus

• The role of the Planets are played by electrons

• The role of Gravity is played by the Electro-Magnetic force

•Latitude – degrees North or South of Equator

•Longitude –degrees East or West of Prime Meridian

Imagine Earth as hollow ball you stand at the center, head pointing to North pole, facing prime meridian, turn clockwise 90 deg, look up 50 degrees see T.B.

Equator – Sun overhead at noon on EquinoxesTropics – Sun overhead at solstices Arctic Circles – Midnight Sun at solstices

The Horizon System

• Horizon: Where Earth meets sky ( Equator )• Zenith: the point directly overhead ( North

Pole )• Azimuth: compass direction of the celestial

object ( longitude measured clockwise from North)

• Altitude: angle above or below the horizon ( latitude )

South

North

Meridian

Azimuth =90+45=135

Equatorial Co-ordinates

• Celestial Equator : directly over the Earth’s equator

• Celestial Poles : directly over the Earth’s poles

• Right Ascension : Celestial longitude measured from Vernal equinox

• Declination : Celestial Latitude• Equinoxes, Solstices, Ecliptic

Ecliptic, Equator, Equinox, Solstice

Ecliptic vs. Equator

Equatorial Co-ordinates of Vega

Horizontal & Equatorial Compared

Hour Angle

Three Co-ordinate Systems