PY124: Solar System Astronomy
Instructor: R.
A. Egler (www4.ncsu.edu/~egler)
Fall Semester 2008 Office: Riddick Hall 436
Room: Riddick
Hall 451 Phone: 515-7842
Days / Time: T, Th: 10:15 to 11:30 e-mail: robert_egler@ncsu.edu
Office hours:
T, Th 9:00 to 10:00 am, & 2:50
to 3:30 pm
Textbook: Universe-
The Solar System
Freedman & Kaufmann
(Freeman Publishing), about $70
LAST UPDATE: 8 July 2008, 14:43
GMT Original posting
IMPORTANT! Some material is not covered in the
textbook. I have put the necessary
material
on-line
as "virtual handouts". Virtual handouts
are available at : www.physics.ncsu.edu/courses/astron/virtualhandouts.html
ADDITIONALLY, Homework
assignments are posted on the Virtual Handouts site.
Suggested
- Detailed (class by class) Topics
- Answers to the most recent test
- Additional
study material for Solar System Astronomy
- Explanation of Orbital
Terms
- Sample Tests for this section
- Answers to homework
1 and sample test 1
- Answers to homework
2 and sample test 2
- Answers to homework
3 and sample test 3
- Official course
description
Goals:
My goals in teaching this
class are to have you understand the spatial and temporal relationships of
objects in the solar system, particularly the movements of the common objects visible
in the sky with minimal optical aid; to understand the historical development
of astronomy; to understand the basics of the philosophical underpinnings of
scientific research; and to understand the properties of the major solar system
bodies, both in the large collective groupings by which they are classified,
and individually; and how we acquire knowledge concerning these objects.
Course Requirements:
There
are no formal prerequisites for this course, however basic familiarity with
algebra and geometry at the level required for admission to the university is
assumed.
There will be three tests
during the semester, and a comprehensive final examination. You will be graded on the basis of:
75% of final grade: Average of the three tests.
25% of final grade: Comprehensive final exam.
Students who come to a test
more than 15 minutes late or after
the first person has left the room will not
be permitted to take the test. There
will be no make-up for tests missed in this manner.
Answers to the tests during the semester will be available immediately after each test at:
http://www.physics.ncsu.edu/courses/astron/last_test.html
☼ Please note NOW that there is NO extra
credit of any kind available
for this course. ☼
Grades:
Final
Grades will be on the Plus/Minus system. Grades
will be calculated to the nearest 1 point.
Example: 89.4 will
be rounded DOWN
to 89, and 89.5
will be rounded UP
to 90.
The grading scale is as follows:
A+ = 98 to 100.0% A = 92 to 97% A- = 90 to 91%
B+ = 88 to 89% B
= 82 to 87% B- = 80 to 81%
C+ = 78 to 79% C
= 72 to 77% C- = 70 to 71%
D+ = 68 to 69% D
= 60 to 67% F = 59%
or lower
In
accordance with university policy, students who elect the S/U grading system will receive an 'S' only if their course grade
would be "C-" or better on the letter grade system.
Important: Repeated disruptions of
the class (for example: talking, answering your cellphone during class, etc)
may result in the lowering of a student's grade by up to one full letter
grade. Please be considerate of your
fellow students.
.No Finals will be given at any
time other than the officially schedule exam time for this class.
***
FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, December 16th,
8:00 a.m. *** except in the case of 3 tests in 24 hours or documented emergency. (Going home
early for ANY reason is NOT an emergency, even if you "already have
your tickets".)
ANY
CHANGES IN TEST DATES WILL BE IMMEDIATELY POSTED ON THE ON-LINE SYLLABUS
Accommodations
for students with disabilities:
Reasonable accommodations
will be made for students with verifiable disabilities, registered with NC
State Disability Services for Students, room 1900
www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/provost/info/hat/current/appendix/appen_k.html
Attendance:
The material on the tests will be drawn from the lectures,
therefore regular class attendance is expected.
Attendance will be recorded, but does not directly affect your
grade. However, keep in mind that several
years experience shows that your final grade will likely be reduced one or more
letter grades if you miss 5 or more classes.
Homework:
Homework will be assigned
and reviewed in class (time permitting), but will not be collected or graded.
Homework is intended to
help you learn the material, thus it is certainly to your advantage to do the
homework.
Academic Integrity
I consider your name
on the test as your certification that you did not give or receive unauthorized
assistance with the test.
Alternate and Make-Up
Tests:
** NO "makeup" tests will be given for ANY reason.**
Under unusual
circumstances that would cause you to miss a test (for instance, a death in the
family, a scheduled University event, a document illness, etc..) , arrangements
may be made to take a test at
something other than the scheduled time, provided
that such arrangements are made before the regular test is given. Such "Alternate" tests will almost certainly be of a different
format, for example a mixed essay - multiple choice test, a verbal test, or an
all-essay test.
Policy
on IN (Incomplete) grades:
(From the NC State Faculty Handbook): IN is a temporary grade. "At the discretion
of the instructor, students may be assigned an IN grade for work not completed
because of a serious interruption in their work not caused by their own
negligence. An IN must not be used as a
substitute for an F when a student's performance in the course is deserving of
an F. An IN is only appropriate when the
student's record in the course is such that successful completion of
assignments, projects, or tests (missed as a result of a documented serious event)
would enable that student to pass the course. Work undertaken to make up the IN
grade should be limited to the completion of missed work. "
Disagreements between the
text and the lectures:
Astronomy, like any
science, has areas in which the scientists studying the subject disagree. It is possible that there will be some
disagreement between some material present in the lecture and the corresponding
material presented in the textbook. In
any case where my lecture differs from the textbook, I will take as correct on
any test question the version that I discussed in class.
SYLLABUS:
NOTE: No
class on the following dates:
Thursday,
October 9 (Fall Break)
Tuesday, November 25 and Thursday,
November 27
***
FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, December 16th,
8:00 a.m. ***
No Finals will be
given at any other time. except in the case of
3 tests in 24 hours or documented emergency. (Going home early for
ANY reason is NOT any emergency, even if you "already have your
tickets".)
ANY CHANGES IN TEST DATES WILL BE IMMEDIATELY POSTED ON THE ON-LINE
SYLLABUS
Detailed
Syllabus by Class (Approximate, subject to change as needed)
Class 1 General Introduction
Scale of the
Solar System
Powers of ten
Video (The Planets series, Volume 1:
"Different Worlds")
Class 2 Atmospheric Effects
Constellations
and star names
Magnitude system
Terrestrial
Coordinate System
Class 3 Time
Celestial
Coordinate System
Latitude and
Longitude from
Celestial Observations
Class 4 Motions in the Sky,
and Seasons
Development of
the Calendar
Astronomical
Origins of Day Names
and
Holidays
Class 5 Astrology
Phases of the
Moon
Class 6 Tides: Moon and Sun
Eclipses
History of
Astronomy: Greeks thru Ptolemy
Class 7 History of
Astronomy: Copernicus thru
Galileo
Kepler's Laws of
Motion
Class 8 Gravity: Aristotle
thru
Class 9 Orbits
Review for Test
1
Class 10 *** Test 1 ***
(Sept 23rd )
Class 11 Return tests.
Video (The Planets series, Volume 2:
"Terra Firma")
Class 12 Light,
electromagnetic spectrum
Wavelength,
frequency, and energy
Wein's law
Emission
spectra, absorption spectra,
and atomic structure.
Class 13 Telescopes and optics
Optical
aberrations
Imaging systems
and telescope mounts
Class 14 Overview of the solar
system.
History of the
Earth
Class 15 Earth in detail. Internal structure.
Atmosphere
Plate tectonics
Magnetic field
Class 16 Video: (The Planets series, Volume 4:
"Moon")
Class 17 Moon:
structure and geology
surface features
origin Mercury:
structure
surface features
atmosphere
Class 18 Venus:
structure
surface features
atmosphere
Mars
structure
surface features
atmosphere
Review for test
2
Class 19 *** Test 2
*** (October 23rd )
Class 20 Return tests.
Video (The Planets series, Volume 3:
"Giants")
Class 21 Asteroids and Comets
Structure and orbits
L4 and L5 Points
Class 22 Jupiter
Internal
structure, atmosphere
Coriolis
force and the storms of Jupiter
Large
moons, and tidal forces
Class 23 Saturn
Internal
structure, atmosphere
Roche
limit and rings of planets
Large
moons
Class 24 Uranus
Discovery
Internal
structure, atmosphere
Neptune
Discovery
Internal
structure, atmosphere
Pluto,
Eris, and similar bodies
Discovery
Principle
features
Class 25 The Sun
Overall
structure
Nuclear
fusion
Searching for planets
around other stars
Relativity
Review
Class 26 *** TEST 3 ***
(November 20th )
Class 27 / Class 28 Return
tests, review for Final Exam
Search for extraterrestrial
intelligence
