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Astronomy 0089
This course is designed for students majoring in the sciences. Basic skills in trigonometry, calculus, and elementary physics are required. Students will be introduced to planetary motion, Kepler's three laws, and Newton's laws. The electromagnetic spectrum will be discussed, with an emphasis on the nature of light, types of spectra and their production, and the Black-body spectrum. We will then give an in depth discussion of the different types of telescopes used by astronomers. The birth, evolution, and death of different types of stars will be discussed, with a specific section dealing with our own sun. Lectures will include discussions on luminosity, parallax, binary stars, stellar evolution, planetary nebular, supernova, pulsars, and black holes. Students will look at the Milky Way and its constituents – interstellar gas, molecular clouds, stars, and star clusters. Different type of galaxies will be discussed, and we will examine active galactic nuclei, including quasars. Finally cosmology, including the microwave background radiation and evidence for an expanding universe, will be discussed.
Universe
by W.J. Kaufman II
Class Notes:
- Course description and EXAM dates: Course Description
- Knowing the Heavens: Chapter 2
- Eclipses and Ancient Astronomy: Chapter 3
- Gravitation and the Motions of Planets: Chapter 4
- The Nature of Light and Matter: Chapter 5
- Optics and Telescopes: Chapter 6
- Our Solar System: Chapter 7
- The Sun, Our Star: Chapter 18
- The Nature of Stars: Chapter 19
- Stellar Evolution: Chapter 20
- Stellar Maturity and Old Age: Chapter 21
- White-Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, Black Holes: Chapters 22-24
- The Milky-Way Galaxy: Chapter 25
- Galaxies/Active Galaxies: Chapters 26-27
- Cosmology: Chapter 28
Star formation region NGC281
(courtesy of NASA)
Starburst Galaxy NGC 3310
(Courtesy of NASA)
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