ASTRONOMY 270

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Astronomy 270 is designed for people who want to learn about the Universe in more depth than is possible in Astro 101. The fall semester will be devoted to the Solar System, starting with our own planet Earth, then working through the Solar System constituents: the inner and outer planets, their moons, ring systems, comets and meteors. Just as important as learning about the objects with which we share our Universe, we will be investigating how we know what we know. We will therefore discuss some basic Astronomy concepts like coordinate systems, gravity, properties of light, and telescopes - all important concepts used to understand the objects we observe. Astronomy is a unique science, in that we cannot run experiments on astronomical objects (with the exception of the few planetary bodies we, or our probes, have visited). Along the course we will also discuss the most recent results from space missions to the Solar System bodies (for example the Mars rovers).

Time and place:	TR 11:00AM-12:15PM, Regener Hall 114
Instructor:	Prof. Y. Pihlström, phone 277-4492
Textbook:	Universe, Freedman and Kaufmann, 8th Edition.
Prerequisites:	Physics 151 or higher; Math 150 or 162
Exams and Grades:	Your final grade will be determined through two sectional exams (each 25% of the grade), homework (20%) and the final exam (30%). The exam dates will be announced in the beginning of the course. In general, make-up exams will NOT be given unless you have a very valid reason, and make-ups will be oral. NO make-ups will be given unless arranged before the exam.

Lecture schedule (subject to change)

Date	Topic	Chapter
T Aug 21	Introduction
R Aug 23	Angles and angular measure	1
T Aug 28	Positional astronomy	2
R Aug 30	Eclipses and the Moon	3
T Sep 4	Kepler's laws	4
R Sep 6	Newton's laws, HW1 due	4
T Sep 11	Orbits	4
R Sep 13	NO LECTURE
T Sep 18	Tides, HW2 due	4
R Sep 20	The nature of light, black body radiation	5
T Sep 25	Telescopes	6
R Sep 27	Exam 1	1-4
T Oct 2	Spectral lines, the Doppler effect	5
R Oct 4	Our amazing solar system	7
T Oct 9	Overview of our solar system, HW3 due	7
R Oct 11	FALL BREAK
T Oct 16	The origin of our solar system, HW4 due	8
R Oct 18	The Earth's atmosphere	9
T Oct 23	The Earth's interior, HW5 due	9
R Oct 25	The Moon	10
T Oct 30	Mercury, HW6 due	11
R Nov 1	Mercury and Venus	11
T Nov 6	Venus	11
R Nov 8	Exam 2	5-11.3
T Nov 13	Mars	11
R Nov 15	Jupiter and Saturn	12
T Nov 20	Jupiter and Saturn moons, HW7 due	13
R Nov 22	THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
T Nov 27	Uranus and Neptune	14
R Nov 28	Neptune and Pluto, HW8 due	14
T Dec 4	Asteroids and comets, Asteroid belt, course recap	15
R Dec 6	Office hours: preparation for final
T Dec 11	Final exam