NOTE: This page provides a very brief summary of the main topics covered during each lecture/lab class meeting. Refer to your (or your classmates') class notes for details.

Wednesday, Dec. 6 (#41): Overview of topics to be covered on the final exam (scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 12 from 5 to 7 PM). Evolution of high-mass stars (ending as supernovae, neutron stars, pulsars, and black holes). Overview of current topics in cosmology: the inflationary Universe, evidence for an accelerating Universe.

Monday, Dec. 4 (#40): Review of HRPO observations (identification of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, occulation of Io by Jupiter, the Great Red Spot); stellar evolution; equilibrium between radiation pressure from nuclear fusion and gravitational forces; the evolution of low- and medium-mass (solar-type) stars: protostar-main sequence-red giant-planetary nebula-white dwarf.

Thursday, Nov. 30 (#39): At the HRPO (clear and cold!). Naked-eye observing with planispheres; further identification of bright stars and constellations; binocular viewing of crescent Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Andromeda, and the Pleiades. Telescopic viewing with the 20" of Jupiter and Saturn and their moons, Andromeda, Pleiades, M34 (open cluster); observing sheets and sketches; determination of cardinal directions through eyepiece (image reversal), estimate of field of view, etc.

Wednesday, Nov. 29 (#38): Basic observable properties of stars: brightness and color ==> luminosity and magnitude; apparent vs absolute magnitude; spectral type; the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram; main sequence, giant and supergiant, and dwarf stars; the H-R diagram as a "snapshot" of stellar evolution.

Monday, Nov. 27 (#37): Overview of remaining topics to be covered (stellar evolution, dark matter, and cosmology). Video clip on Einstein and relativity, and Bohr, Heisenberg and Schrodinger and the development of quantum mechanics (the birth of modern physics).

Thursday, Nov. 23: Thanksgiving Holiday, no class.

Wednesday, Nov. 22 (#36): Video: Life Beyond Earth (PBS documentary).

Monday, Nov. 20 (#35): Wrap-up of planetary atmospheres. Conditions necessary for life on Earth (and similar terrestrial-type planets). Search for life elsewhere in the Solar System. Search for extrasolar planets around nearby Sun-like stars.

Thursday, Nov. 16 (#34): Heavy rain. Observatory session held on campus. Asteroid impacts; impact theory for the formation of the Moon (including video clip of simulated collisions). Planetary atmospheres; greenhouse effect vs global warming vs ozone hole vs ozone pollution alerts. Video clip on Hubble and the discovery of the expanding universe.

Wednesday, Nov. 15 (#33): Comparative planetology; types of surface features, interior structure deduced from surface features; seismic waves from earthquakes as probes of interior structure; magnetic fields and the dynamo effect.

Monday, Nov. 13 (#32): Discussion of CLEA computer lab on the Moons of Jupiter.

Week of November 6-10 (#29-31): Dr. Stacy is away at a conference; complete the take-home assignments handed out previously (refer to the Course Assignments page).

Thursday, Nov. 1 (#28): Observatory session replaced by Chancellor's Distinguished Lecture at LSU: Dr. N. Sleep (Stanford) on the topic of "Asteroid Impacts and Life."

Wednesday, Nov. 1 (#27): Discussion of assignments to be carried out next week, including the CLEA computer lab on the "Moons of Jupiter," and the "Observer's Handbook" research exercise (for possible extra credit); brief outdoor session to resolve the question: is that the Moon or the Sun visible through the fog?; intro to the "Moons of Jupiter" CLEA lab; discussion of recent article in Science on the Tagish Lake meteorite of January, 2000.

Monday, Oct. 30 (#26): Terrestrial planets (cont'd); surface features as indicators of relative age; surface features as indicators of interior conditions and plate tectonics; the Earth as an active, dynamic planet.

Thursday, Oct. 26 (#25): Observatory session canceled due to class conflicts; handouts passed out: the "Lunar Motion" mini-lab observing assignment, and an overview of the "Constellations" observable by season.

Wednesday, Oct. 25 (#24): Origin and evolution of the Solar System; the solar nebula; compression, fragmentation, and heating of interstellar gas clouds via gravitational collapse in the spiral arms of the Galaxy; formation of flattened disks with angular momentum; differentiation of volatile vs refractory elements (the "frost line").

Monday, Oct. 23 (#23): Overview of the Solar System; main constituents; common orbital and rotational properties of planets (implies a common origin); terrestrial vs jovian planets; anomalies: rotation axes (Venus, Uranus), retrograde moons (Triton); Pluto as a Kuiper Belt object.

Thursday, Oct. 19 (#22): At the HRPO (clear, mostly); solar motion observation for mini-lab; phase of Venus thru the 20" (waning gibbous?); determination of cardinal directions thru eyepiece, inverted images, etc; spectrum demonstration with gas discharge tubes viewed through diffraction gratings; emission spectra of fluorescent lights and outdoor security lights; viewed a mag -8 Iridium flare (!); M15 globular cluster thru the 20".

Wednesday, Oct. 18 (#21): Kirchoff's laws; continuous vs emisssion vs absorption spectra; the Planck black-body curve; color as a temperature indicator; inverse-square law of brightness.

Monday, Oct. 16 (#20): The E-M spectrum (concl.); the Multiwavelength Universe (the sky observed in different wavelengths); overview of astrophysical origin of different types of E-M radiation; detectors used across the spectrum; need for spacecraft measurement above the atmosphere.

Thursday, Oct. 12 (#19): At the HRPO (clear and cool!). Observation of Sun for solar-motion mini-lab; binocular observations of Venus (phases a la Galileo?); oral reports on Sky and Telescope articles; first visual observing with the 20": start-up, time and pointing checks, observations of Vega, Eps Lyrae, Albireo, the Ring Nebula (M57); binocular observations of the rising near-full Moon; identifying bright stars and constellations by naked eye using planispheres.

Wednesday, Oct. 11 (#18): The electromagnetic spectrum, radio to gamma; relationship between frequency, wavelength, and energy per photon; names of "sub-bands" (e.g., microwave, UVA vs UVB, soft vs hard x-rays, etc.); terrestrial examples; detection techniques as a function of frequency/energy.

Monday, Oct. 9 (#17): Modern astronomy: Consequences of Newton's law of gravitation: escape velocity, bound vs unbound orbits, orbiting satellites as objects in "free-fall," tides, tidal friction, and tidal locking (of moons with planets); Einstein, intro and general overview of special and general relativity, frames of reference, curved space-time, E=mc^2, gravitational lensing.

Thursday, Oct. 5 (#16): At the HRPO (rainy, then very cloudy). Astronomy on the WWW (follow links on course WWW pages); oral reports on selected articles from Sky and Telescope; binocular observations of the 1st Quarter Moon (through a break in the clouds); alt/az vs equatorial mounts; identification of main lunar features; return and discuss Test #1.

Wednesday, Oct. 4 (#15): Renaissance astronomy: Telescopic observations of Galileo; Newton, laws of motion and gravitation, gravity as an "inverse square law"; Kepler's laws as a consequence of Newton's law of gravitation.

Monday, Oct. 2 (#14): Historical astronomy wrap-up: Ancient Greece, Arabic astronomy, Copernicus, Brahe, and Kepler; Kepler's 3 laws of planetary motion.

Thursday, Sept. 28 (#13): At the HRPO (clear!). Observation of setting sun for solar motion mini-lab; observation of Venus, morning vs evening star; tour of telescope; pre-test review, questions and answers, hourly Test #1; first observations: double stars (using 20" finder); naked eye observing with planispheres: polaris, summer triangle, constellations.

Wednesday, Sept. 27 (#12): Review: current phase of the Moon; eclipse seasons; angular sizes of the Sun and Moon; solar vs lunar eclipses, umbra vs penumbra, total vs partial vs annular, why lunar eclipses not completely dark; retrograde motion of the planes as an orbital phenomenom.

Monday, Sept. 25 (#11): "How to Tell Time with the Moon"; phases of the Moon, including rise/set and transit times; tilt of lunar orbital plane with respect to ecliptic plane; line of nodes and relation to "eclipse seasons."

Thursday, Sept. 21 (Happy Equinox!) (#10): At the HRPO (rainy!). Tour of observatory and telescope deck, introduction to the 20" telescope; using your hand as an angular measuring device; introduction to the stellar magnitude scale; difference between magnetic declination (or deviation) and celestial declination; video segment from the Cosmos series: Eratosthenes and the determination of the size of the Earth. Handouts: planisphere, coordinate systems review sheet, angular measure, reference magnitudes of stars in the Big and Little Dippers, solar motion mini-lab, SkyGazer CD-ROM worksheet.

Wednesday, Sept. 20 (#9): The equinox approaches! Review of equinox and change of season, solar motion through the zodiac; lunar motion, synodic period, orbital plane of the Moon, phases of the Moon (to be cont'd.)

Monday, Sept. 18 (#8): Review of altitude/azimuth (using predicted satellite passes); time: local vs GMT/UT vs sidereal; sidereal day shorter than solar day, relation to changing of constellations with seasons, heliacal rising of stars; precession of the equinoxes ("drift" of RA/DEC with epoch).

Thursday, Sept. 14 (#7): At the HRPO (abbreviated session due to the Chancellor's Convocation on campus); orientation to the observatory; course WWW pages now on-line(!); intro to planisphere use (to be continued).

Wednesday, Sept. 13 (#6): Calendars, time and time zones, local time (standard vs daylight, CST vs CDT), relation between longitude and time, universal and Greenwich time (UT and GMT), sidereal time.

Monday, Sept. 11 (#5): Celestial sphere (cont'd.); significance of Polaris, circumpolar regions; seasons, significance of Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circles; the analemma.

Thursday, Sept. 7 (#4): Coordinate systems: terrestrial (long/lat), "local" or horizon (alt/az), celestial (RA/DEC); relation and application to the celestial sphere; intro to SkyGazer CD-ROM; map assignment (long/lat of Louisiana State Capitol); use of "Dipper Finder" and "Star Clock."

Tuesday, Sept. 5 (#3): Review of the Scientific Method; distinction between hypotheses vs theories vs laws (of nature); ancient astronomy, spatial and temporal patterns/cycles; ecliptic, zodiac, solar and planetary motions (equinoxes, solstices, retrograde motion); astrology vs astronomy.

Thursday, Aug. 31 (#2): Overview of astronomy ("classical" vs "modern"), relation to "classical" and "modern" physics and astrophysics; review of scientific notation, metric units and prefixes; astronomical units (AU, ly, pc); Powers of Ten video.

Tuesday, Aug. 29 (Class #1): Intro and overview; course information, syllabus, grading criteria, etc.; Slide show: A Quick Tour of the Universe!

gstacy@phys.subr.edu