Lectures

Astro 1: Astronomical Universe


Instructor: Professor Matthew Bershady

Section 2, 11:15-12:05 MWF, 104 Keller


Contents

Part I: Introduction to Astronomy

Part II: The Solar System

Part III: Stars in the Milky Way

Part IV: The Milky Way and Other Galaxies

Part V: Distant Galaxies, Quasars, and Cosmology




Part I: Introduction to Astronomy

Week # Date Lecture Reading in Text
1 1 Wed, Aug 21 Introduction & Tour of the Cosmos scientific notation
. 2 Fri, Aug 23 The Celestial Sphere Ch. 1: all
2 3 Mon, Aug 26 Eclipses, precession, and distance Ch. 1: all
. 4 Wed, Aug 28 History: From heresy to gravity Ch. 2: all
. 5 Fri, Aug 30 Of gravity and light Ch. 2 & 3: all
3 . Mon, Sep 2 NO CLASS .
. 6 Wed, Sep 4 Particles, waves, blackbodies, and lines Ch. 3: all
. 7 Fri, Sep 6 Cosmic chemistry Ch. 3 & 4: all
4 8 Mon, Sep 9 Light buckets Ch. 4: all
. 9 Wed, Sep 11 Review for First Exam .
. 10 Fri, Sep 13 First Exam .


Part II: The Solar System

Week # Date Lecture Reading in Text
5 11 Mon, Sep 16 Our star system Ch. 5: all
. 12 Wed, Sep 18 Terrestrial planets: Why so different? Ch. 6 & 7: 6.1, 6.3, 7.5-7.7, 7.9, Interlude 7-1 + web
. 13 Fri, Sep 20 Jovian planets: Failed stars? Ch. 8: 8.1-8.3, 8.8-8.9, Interlude 8-2 + web
6 14 Mon, Sep 23 Miniature solar systems and debris Ch. 9: 9.2, 9.5-9.7
. 15 Wed, Sep 25 Formation and destruction Ch. 10: all
. 16 Fri, Sep 27 Sol Ch. 11: all
7 17 Mon, Sep 30 ET: Possibilities & Probabilities Ch. 21: all
. 18 Wed, Oct 2 Review for Second Exam .
. 19 Fri, Oct 4 Second Exam .


Part III: Stars in the Milky Way

Week # Date Lecture Reading in Text
8 20 Mon, Oct 7 Stellar types Ch. 12: all
. 21 Wed, Oct 9 Stars and their environs Ch. 12 & 13: all
. 22 Fri, Oct 11 Star formation Ch. 13: all
9 23 Mon, Oct 14 Stellar guts Ch. 11: 11.1, 11.2, 11.6, Ch. 14: all
. 24 Wed, Oct 16 Aging gracefully Ch. 14: all
. 25 Fri, Oct 18 End game I: Explosion Ch. 15: all
1026 Mon, Oct 21 End game II: Collapse Ch. 16: all
. 27 Wed, Oct 23 Review for Third Exam .
. 28 Fri, Oct 25 Third Exam .


Part IV: The Milky Way and Other Galaxies

Week # Date Lecture Reading in Text
Week # Date Lecture Topic Reading
1129 Mon, Oct 28 Stellar populations Ch. 17: 17.1-17.6, 17.9
. 30 Wed, Oct 30 Spatial structure Ch. 17: Interlude 17-2
. 31 Fri, Nov 1 The galaxy manifold Ch. 18: 18.1-18.3, Interlude 18-1
12 32 Mon, Nov 4 Rotation, mass and interaction Ch. 17: 17.6, 17.8, Ch. 18: 18.1-18.3, Interlude 18-2
. 33 Wed, Nov 6 Hubble's bubble and cosmic spikes Ch. 18: 18.2, 18.4, Ch. 20: 20.1
. 34 Fri, Nov 8 Formation & evolution Ch. 17 & 18: 17.6, 18.5
13 35 Mon, Nov 11 Review for Fourth Exam .
. 36 Wed, Nov 13 Fourth Exam .


Part V: Distant Galaxies, Quasars, and Cosmology

Week # Date Lecture Reading in Text
13 37 Fri, Nov 15 Giant black holes Ch. 16: 16.2-16.5, Ch. 19: 19.4
14 38 Mon, Nov 18 The ``Active Galactic Nuclei'' Zoo Ch. 19: all
. 39 Wed, Nov 20 Quasars: Evolution or revelation? Ch. 19: all
15 40 Fri, Nov 22 Is the expansion real? Ch. 20: all
. 41 Mon, Nov 25 Big Bang or Steady State? Ch. 19: Interlude 19-2, Ch. 20: all
. 42 Wed, Nov 27 Open, closed, or critical? Ch. 20: all
. . Fri, Nov 29 NO CLASS .
16 43 Mon, Dec 2 The early universe Ch. 20: all
. 44 Wed, Dec 4 The meta-universe Ch. 20: all
. 45 Fri, Dec 6 Review for Final Exam .
.
. . Wed, Dec 11 Final Exam 10:10 AM - Noon

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Last updated: Aug 17, 1996 Matthew A. Bershady