TENTATIVE COURSE CALENDER
FALL SEMESTER 2007

Aug. 20  Introduction to the course.  Review Syllabus.  Discuss the nature and methods of scientific inquiry. Why Learn Astronomy? Chapter 1

• Celestial sphere and celestial coordinates.  Apparent and real motions of the Earth, Sun, planets, Moon, and stars.  Patterns in the Sky-Motions of Earth. Chapter 2
• Eclipses of the Sun and Moon.  Triangulation and parallax.  The birth of modern science.  Renaissance science.  Sun centered model of the solar system.  The works of  Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton.  Patterns in the Sky-Motions of Earth. Chapter 2 
• The concepts of gravity and motion.  Inertia.  Newton’s Laws of Motion.  Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.  Gravity and Orbits-A Celestial Ballet. Chapter 3
• Light.  Electromagnetic radiation.  Black body radiation.  Wien’s Law.  The structure of atoms. The origin of light.  Emission and absorption spectra.  Light.  Chapter 4
• The tools of astronomy, telescopes.  Types of telescopes.  Atmospheric interference.  Radio astronomy and interferometry.  Other types of non-optical telescopes, instruments, robotics, and spacecraft. The Tools of the Astronomer.  Chapter 5

• The Solar System.  Comparative Planetology.  Scale and structure of the solar system.  Origin and evolution of the solar system.  Terrestrial vs. Jovian Planets.  Other solar system bodies.  Exploration of the solar system.  A Brief History of the Solar System.  Chapter 6
• The rocky Earth-like planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.  General characteristics, structures, and origins.  The Terrestrial Planets and Earth's Moon.    Chapter 7
• Atmospheres of the terrestrial planets, greenhouse warming, weather and storms, etc.  Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets.  Chapter 8

Oct. 10  MAJOR EXAM 2 – CHAPTERS 6, 7, and 8

• The Jovian planets.  The gaseous giants of the solar system.  General characteristics, structure, and composition.  Atmospheres of the gaseous planets.  Magnetic fields of the Jovian Planets.    Worlds of Gas and Liquid-The Giant Planets.  Chapter 9
• Planetary Moons and Rings, and Dwarf Planets.  Chapter 11
• Solar system debris.  Keys to our origin – asteroids, comets, meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites.  Mass extinction on Earth and bolide impacts.  Asteroids, Meteorites, Comets, and Other Debris. Chapter 12

Oct. 31  MAJOR EXAM 3 – CHAPTERS 9, 11, and 12

• Measuring the stars.  Stellar distances, motions, and sizes.  Apparent magnitude vs. absolute magnitude.  Classification of stars by color, temperature, and spectra.  The H-R diagram.  Masses of stars.  Giants, red dwarfs, and main sequence stars.  Taking the Measure of  Stars. Chapter 13
• Our parent star, the Sun.  General characteristics, internal structure, nuclear fusion, heat transfer, magnetic field, sunspots, etc.  A Run-of-the-Mill G Dwarf: Our Sun.  Chapter 14
• The birth and death of stars.  Fusion versus gravity.  Solar nebula.  Evolving off the main sequence.  The evolution of stars like our Sun.  The evolution of high mass stars. Novae and supernovae.  The formation of heavy elements in the Universe.  Parts of Chapters 15, 16, and 17. 

If time permits we will cover the following:

• Main types of galaxies.  Measuring distances to galaxies.  Measuring the mass and distances to galaxies.  Dark matter.  Active galaxies and normal galaxies.  Radio galaxies.  Quasars.  Galaxy clusters and superclusters. Galaxies.   Chapter 18
• The Big Bang and the fate of the Universe.  The cosmological principle.  Determination of the age of the Universe.  Evolutionary models of the Universe.  Dark matter and continued? expansion of the Universe.  Cosmic background radiation.  Etc.  Our Expanding Universe.  Chapter 20