Dr. Mary Lou West, 244 Richardson Hall, 973-655-7266
Office hours: M 11:20, W 11:20, R 5:20, and by appointment
e-mail:westm@mail.montclair.edu
http://www.csam.montclair.edu/~west
Math Sci / Physics , Montclair State University, 973-655-5132

ASTRONOMY (PHYS-280): Fall 2011, 4 sh


T 4-5:15 PM in RI-226, T 5:30-7:10 PM in RI-261, R 4-5:15 PM in RI-261

Textbook: "Universe" by Roger Freedman, Robert Geller, and William Kaufmann III, 9th Edition, 2011
Week, Mon. Topic and Reading Lab Exercise (Tuesday)

The Solar System
1, R, Sep 8 Overview, Thur (Ch 1, 2) No lab
2, Sep 12 Gravity, Light (Ch 4, 5) #1 Celestial Sphere.pdf , .doc
3, Sep 19 Solar System (Ch 7, 8) #2 Moon's Surface
4, Sep 26 Earth, Moon (Ch 9, 10) #3 Comparative Planetology.pdf , .doc
5, Oct 3 Mercury, Venus, Mars (Ch 11) #4 Trip to Newark Museum Planetarium
6, Oct 10 Jovian Planets (Ch 12, 14) #5 Moons of Jupiter
7, Oct 17 Review, Midterm Test (Ch 1,2,4,5,7-12,14) on R Oct 20 #6 Voyager Software

Stars and Deep Space

8, Oct 24 Sun (Ch 16) #7 Sunspots
9, Oct 31 Stars (Ch 17), Life of Stars (Ch 18, 19) #8 Stellar Spectra
10, Nov 7 Death of Stars (Ch 20, 21, 22), #9 H-R Diagram of a Star Cluster
11, Nov 14 The Milky Way (Ch 23) #10 Pulsars
12, Nov 21 Galaxies (Ch 24, 25) THANKSGIVING #11 Other Galaxies
13, Nov 28 Cosmology (Ch 26, 27), Papers due Nov 29 #12 Hubble's Law of Cosmological Redshift
14, Dec 5 Early Universe, Ch. 27 Student Reports on projects
15, Dec 12 Review Lab makeups

Exam: Friday, Dec 16, 3:15-5:15 PM (Cumulative, but mainly Ch. 18-28)

Dates may change due to unforeseen circumstances. Changes will be announced, and it is the responsibility of the student to keep informed. Please read blackboard.montclair.com and your e-mail regularly.

PUBLIC TELESCOPE NIGHTS: 8-9 PM every clear Thursday from September 8 to December 15 (except for November 24) in front of Richardson Hall. Come to observe the moon, planets, constellations and nebulae. The moon will be featured on September 8, October 6, November 3 & 10, and December 1 & 8. Jupiter will be visible in November and December. Uranus and Neptune will be up in October and November.
There will be NO Public Telescope Night if it is cloudy, or extremely cold or windy. It is considered clear if you can see the moon or 10 stars clearly.
There will be a star party with many telescopes at Riker Hill Art Park in Livingston on Friday October 21, 8-10 PM.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Midterm test (October 20), final exam (December 16), a 3000 word typed paper (about 10-12 pages) on any astronomical topic (due November 29), 11 lab reports (out of 12 activities), an individual observation project and an oral report on your project (December 6), an individual demonstration, a look through a telescope, and homework every other week or so.
Your course grade is composed of 10% class participation and homework, 20% midterm test, 20% paper, 22% lab reports, 5% individual observational project, 2% individual demonstration, 1% sky observation with a telescope, and 20% final exam. The test questions will be short answer, problem, and essay. The paper is the required writing-assignment-in-the-major.
Homework problems and labs should be done together, but written up in your own words.

The night sky is beautiful, it follows laws, and our understanding grows in scope and elegance. Let's explore the universe together!

Mary Lou West