INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY

PHYS 206, FALL 2000

MW 8:00-8:50 AM, ROOM 259, WM JAMES HALL
THURSDAY, 5:00-8:00 PM, HIGHLAND ROAD PARK OBSERVATORY

INSTRUCTOR: G. STACY

COURSE OVERVIEW BY WEEK AND TOPIC

WEEK

TOPIC

IMPORTANT DATES AND RELEVANT CHAPTER(S) FROM TEXTBOOK
Week 1:
Aug. 28-Sept. 1		 Intro, Overview, and Review
Quick Tour of the Universe
Orientation to the Night Sky and Celestial Sphere		 In-class discussion
Chapts. 1, 2
Week 2:
Sept. 4-8		 Ancient Astronomy: Observing with the Naked Eye
Motions of the Sun, Moon, and Planets		 Chapts. 2, 3
Week 3:
Sept. 11-15		 Seasons, Phases, and Eclipses
Renaissance Astronomy: Copernicus to Newton		 Chapts. 2, 3, 5
Week 4:
Sept. 18-22		 Properties of Light and Matter, the E-M Spectrum
Telescopes		 Chapt. 6
Week 5:
Sept. 25-29		 The Solar System: Origin and History
Terrestrial Planets		 Exam #1: Thurs., Sept. 28
 Chapts. 7, 8
Week 6:
Oct. 2-6		 Jovian Planets
Moons of the Planets		 Chapt. 9
Week 7:
Oct. 9-13		 Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors
Planetary Impacts		 Chapt. 10
Week 8:
(Mid-term week)
Oct. 16-20		 The Earth as a Planet: Interior, Surface, and Atmosphere
Conditions Necessary for Life
Extra-Solar Planetary Systems		 Exam #2: Thurs., Oct. 19
Chapts. 11, 7
Week 9:
Oct. 23-27		 The Sun
Stars: Classification
Stellar Birth and Life Cycle		 Chapts. 12, 13, 14
Week 10:
Oct. 30-Nov. 3		 The Deaths of Stars:
White Dwarves, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes
Relativity and Gravity Waves (LIGO)		 Chapts. 15
Week 11:
Nov. 6-10		 The Milky Way Galaxy
Mini-projects		 Chapt. 16
Week 12:
Nov. 13-17		 Quasars and Active Galaxies
The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe		 Exam #3: Thurs., Nov. 16
Chapts. 17, 18
Week 13:
Nov. 20-22		 The Search for Dark Matter Chapt. 18

Thanksgiving Break, November 23-24
Week 14:
Nov. 27-Dec. 1		 Cosmology and the Big Bang
History and Future of the Expanding Universe		 Chapt. 19
Week 15:
Dec. 4-6		 Life in the Universe, Interstellar Travel
Current Topics in the News, Wrap-up		 Chapt. 20

FINAL EXAM: either Monday, Dec. 11, 12-2 PM, or Tuesday, Dec. 12, 5-7 PM (TBD)

NOTE:
More detailed reading and homework assignments will be given out weekly in class.
Some assignments will involve outside supplemental readings.

gstacy@phys.lsu.edu