Star Systems

Instructor:   Dr. Kevin Knuth
Contact:   kknuth@albany.edu PH 211, 442 - 4653
Office Hours:   Wednesdays 1:30pm – 3:00pm, PH 211
Teaching Assistant:    Carlo Cafaro

We will be OBSERVING on Sunday May 13, 2007.
There will be two sessions tonight (one will be early monday morning):

Session I: Sunday May 13, 2007 at 8:30 PM to see Saturn, Venus, and Galaxies

Session II: Monday May 14, 2007 at 12:30 AM to see Jupiter (but the Red Spot will be on the opposite side of Jupiter and out of our view)

NOTE that the Moon will be RIGHT next to Venus on Saturday May 19

The observatory is in the EARTH SCIENCE building.
I will try to keep the EAST door open... look for the OBSERVATORY sign.
If for some reason you cant get in, try going in through the tunnel and basement.
The stairs to the Observatory are on the 3rd floor between rooms 316 and 317.
Go up the stairs and follow the signs.

We are fortunate to be able to use these facilities after hours, so please act accordingly.

Course Description: We will explore our world and our lives in the context of the solar system to which we belong. We will compare our world to the other rocky worlds of the inner solar system, and explore the gas giants and frozen worlds of the outer solar system. We will come to understand our sun as a star, and will learn about the other stars in our galaxy and what we know about those star systems.

Week

Dates

Reading

Lecture

Homework

Thurs Jan 18

Ch 1: Overview

Tues Jan 23

Ch 2: Motions in the Sky

Lecture 1

Thurs Jan 25

Ch 2: Motions of Earth and Moon

Lecture 2

Tues Jan 30

The Basics of Astronomy

Lecture 3

HW 1 Due Feb 6

Thurs Feb 1

Galileo and Modern Science

Lecture 4

Tues Feb 6

Ch 4,5: Light / Telescopes / Spectra

Lecture 5

HW 2 Due Feb 15

Thurs Feb 8

Ch 3: Gravitation / Orbits

Lecture 6

Tues Feb 13

Ch 3: Gravitation / Orbits cont.

Thurs Feb 15

EXAM I : CANCELLED

Tues Feb 20

Winter Break

Thurs Feb 22

Winter Break

Tues Feb 27

Video: For All Mankind

Lecture 7

Thurs Mar 1

EXAM I

Tues Mar 5

Ch 6, 7: The Moon

Lecture 8

Thurs Mar 8

Ch 7: Terrestrial Planets: Earth

Lecture 9

Tues Mar 13

Astrobiology: Prof. Delano

Lecture 10

Thurs Mar 15

Ch 7: Terrestrial Planets: Venus

Lecture 11

Tues Mar 20

Ch 8: Terrestrial Planets: Mars

Lecture 12

HW 3 Due Mar 27

Thurs Mar 22

Ch 8: Terrestrial Planets: Mars

Mars Slides

Tues Mar 27

Ch 8: Terrestrial Planets: Atmospheres

Lecture 13

Thurs Mar 29

EXAM II

Tues Apr 3

Spring Break

Thurs Apr 5

Spring Break

Tues Apr 10

Ch 8: Terrestrial Planets: Atmospheres

Thurs Apr 12

Ch 9, 11: Outer Planets

Tues Apr 17

Ch 9: Jupiter and its Moons

Lecture 14

Thurs Apr 19

Ch 11: Saturn and its Moons

Lecture 15

Tues Apr 24

Ch 11: Saturn and its Moons

Solar Observing

Thurs Apr 26

Ch 11+12: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

Lecture 16

Tues May 1

Ch 15-17: Life Cycle of Stars

Thurs May 3

Ch 13-14: Sun and Space Weather

Lecture 17

Tues May 8

Stars and Galaxies

Lecture 19

Lecture 18

Fri May 11

FINAL EXAM in PHY 225 3:30-5:30pm

Homework:
Homework assignments will consist of multiple choice questions that can be answered by studying the text, as well as educational and mission oriented websites from NASA and the European Space Agency. In addition, students will be expected to keep an experimental notebook recording the position and phase of the moon and other planets when observed.

Any cheating on exams or quizzes will result in course failure and severe disciplinary action.

Quizzes:
There will be occasional quizzes which may consist of multiple choice questions, short answer, and object identification. The lowest quiz score will be dropped. There are no makeup quizzes.

Grading (A-E):
Homework: 20%
Quizzes: 20%
Hour Exam I: 20%
Hour Exam II: 20%
Final Exam: 20%

Internet Requirement: We will rely on the internet to obtain information about NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Missions, as well as access to Interactive Sky Maps to assist you in locating objects in the night sky.