Astronomy (PY 101)

(2008 Spring Semester)

Lectures:        MW 1:00-1:50 (Cheray 111)

Laboratory:    T 10:00-12:00 or 1:00-3:00 (Cheray 123)

Instructor:       Dr. Alain Brizard (abrizard@smcvt.edu)

Tutor:             

Office:             Cheray 110 (Office Hours: M 12-1pm, T 9-10am)

Phone:             654-2886

Textbook:       Lecture Notes

Graph Paper

Links                      Holcomb Observatory

The Electronic Sky

StarDate Online

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Cosmic Journey: A History of Scientific Cosmology

Sky Maps

The Constellations

Messier Catalog

Astronomy Dictionary

Best of Hubble Space Telescope

Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy (CLEA)

Course Outline

Part One             Astronomy and the Universe

• Topic 1            Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy (Star Charts: 1, 2, 3, and 4)
• Topic 2            The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science (retrograde motion:  plot, animation)

• Topic 3           Radiation: Information from the Cosmos (links: IR, X-Ray, Kirchhoff, Blackbody, Chem_Light,  Doppler)
  
• Project I:          Lunar Orbit  (Due date: January 29^th; Lunar Cycle; Venus Cycle)
• Project II:         Wien’s Law of Blackbody Radiation (animation; due date: February 25th)

Part Two             Practical Astronomy

• Topic 4        Spectroscopy: The Inner Workings of Atoms (Stellar spectra I, II, III; Spectral Type: I, animation)
• Topic 5        Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy

Part Three         Stars and Stellar Evolution

• Topic 6     The Sun: Our Parent Star (links: SOHO, Sun_XR, NOAA, Weather; movies: Lasco, EUV, SXR, CME, CME2)
• Topic 7     Red Giants and White Dwarfs (links: HR, Hipparcos, HRanimation)                                         
• Topic 8     Star Formation: A Traumatic Birth                                     
• Topic 9     Stellar Evolution: The Life and Death of a Star (links: Evolution)

• Project III:       Mass-luminosity Relationship for Main-sequence Stars (due date: March 26^th)
• Project IV:       HR Diagram for 20 brightest/nearest Stars (due date: April 2^nd)
• Project V:        Lifetime on Main Sequence versus Mass (due date: April 9^th)
• Project VI:       Age of a Globular Cluster (due date: April 22^nd)
  

Part Four        Galaxies and Cosmology

• Topic 10     The Milky Way Galaxy: A Spiral in Space (optional)                                         
• Topic 11     Cosmic Ladder                                        

• Project VII:      White Dwarfs (due date: April 29^th)
• Project VIII:     Cepheid Variable Stars (optional, due date: April 30^th)
  

Laboratory Experiments

1. Star Locator
2. Retrograde Motion of Mars (Mars: 2000 - 2002)
3. CLEA Lab: The Revolution of the Moons of Jupiter
4. Identification of Constellations
5. Emission Spectra
6. Our Sun
7. CLEA Lab: The Classification of Stellar Spectra
8. NOVA Movie: Death of a Star
9. CLEA Lab: The Color-Magnitude of the Pleiades (Pleiades)
10. CLEA Lab: Radio Astronomy of Pulsars
11. CLEA Lab: Hubble's Constant
12. NOVA Movie: The Runaway Universe
13. Observation Night (optional)

Grade Distribution

Projects:          20 %

            Quizzes:           10 %

Labs:               30 %

            Mid-Term:       15 % (Quiz 1-9, Review Notes; Monday, March 3, 1:00 – 1:50)

            Exam:              25 % (Quiz 11-21, Review Notes; Monday, May 5, 1:00 – 3:30)

This course adheres to the Saint Michael’s College Academic Integrity Policy.