ASTRONOMY 120 Home Page

Highlights of Astronomy

Spring Quarter 2008

Instructor: Giles Novak

Office: Dearborn Observatory Room 9B

Phone: 491-8645

Email: g-novak@northwestern.edu

Office Hours: Wednesday 2:00-2:55 PM

Lectures: MWF at 11 AM in Technological Institute LR 3

Textbook: The Cosmos, by Pasachoff and Filippenko, Third Edition

Important Dates:

• Exam Number One is Wednesday, April 30th at 11 AM in Tech Lecture Room 3 (50 minutes)
• Exam Number Two is Friday, May 30th at 11 AM in Leverone Auditorium (50 minutes)
• Paper Due: Wednesday, June 11th at 3:30 PM in Dearborn Observatory

Teaching Assistant

• E-mail: tristan@u.northwestern.edu
• Office: Dearborn Observatory, Room B-8 (located in the basement)
• Office Hours: Tuesday 2:00-3:45 PM and Friday 1:15-2:15 PM, in Dearborn Observatory, Room B-8 (located in the basement)
• Mr. Matthew's office hours start on the second week of the quarter and extend through the ninth week of the quarter.

Observing Sessions (extra credit)

Since we can accomodate only a limited number of students per session, prior sign-up (during the Monday lecture) is required.  IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND AN OBSERVING SESSION, DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE QUARTER.  Meet just inside the entrance of Dearborn Observatory.  Since the Dearborn dome is not heated, make sure to bring a sweater or jacket; observing sessions last about an hour.  There will be two sessions; 9-10 PM and 10-11 PM. 

Occasionally we may cancel the observing sessions if whe weather looks very bad. The decision regarding the status (cancelled or not cancelled) of each observing session info will be posted on the introductory astronomy observing session home page each Tuesday around Noon.

The Paper

Your assignment is to choose a recent (within the past 6 months) article reporting a new astronomical discovery in a reputable (no tabloids!) publication and critique it.  The article you choose should be longer than ten sentences.  In your paper, you will provide some background on the astronomy covered in the article, discuss the importance of this new development, and most importantly, evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the article based on what you have learned in the course.  Since many of you will choose the same articles, papers that exhibit the most original thinking and creativity in expression will be viewed most favorably.

It is fine to use articles posted on the web, but stick with news organizations (e.g., BBC; major newspapers; CNN). Don't use "press releases" or other "news-like" information that is merely posted on some organization's web page.  Also, I generally would advise against selecting articles written primarily for scientists or science buffs (e.g., Scientific American).

The finished product should be 4 to 6 double-spaced typewritten pages long and include a xerox copy or printout of the article reviewed.  No papers will be accepted after the June 11th, 3:30 PM deadline.

Grading Policy

Practice Exams

Powerpoint Files and Movies

Course Outline

• the beginnings of astronomy: understanding how the Sun and the constellations travel across the sky, and the associated seasonal variations

Chapters 1 and 4
• Sky Online - courtesy of Sky and Telescope magazine
• Constellation Facts and Figures - everything you ever wanted to know about the constellations

• the beginnings of astronomy (continued): the Moon and its phases; eclipses.
• the spectrum of light; emission lines and absorption lines; telescopes

Chapters 2 and 3
• Astronomy Picture of the Day - new views of the cosmos
• SkyView Virtual Observatory - view the sky at any wavelength
• High-Energy Astrophysics Learning Center - tutorial on high-energy astrophysics
• National Optical Astronomy Observatories - the US  optical facilities
• National Radio Astronomy Observatory - the US radio facilities

• the orbits of planets and the birth of classical physics

Chapter 5
• The Nine (minus one equals eight) Planets - a multimedia tour of the solar system

• The Solar System; planetary systems around other stars

Chapters 9 and 10
• Searching for Extrasolar Planets - the very latest from the planet-finders

Exam Number 1: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 11 AM in Tech Lecture Room 3

• stars: the Sun, other types of stars, birth of stars

Chapters 11 and 12
• Measuring Distances Near and Far - an inventory of various methods
• AAVSO Page - the latest on variable stars (novae, Cepheids, etc.)
• The Birth of Stars - a tutorial from Augustana College

• old age and death of stars: red giants, white dwarfs, planetary nebulae, supernovae, neutron stars, and black holes

Chapters 13 and 14
• Black Holes - frequently asked questions
• Movies from the Edge of Spacetime - computer simulations of black hole phenomena

• galaxies: the Milky Way Galaxy, dark matter, birth of galaxies

Chapters 15 and 16
• The Shapley-Curtis Debate - the 1920 perspective on the size of the universe
• Galaxies - a morphological survey including images of Messier galaxies
• The MACHO Project - searching for dark matter
• Edwin Hubble - a historical look at Hubble and his work

• big bang cosmology

Chapters 17 and 18
• Cosmos in a Computer - an introduction to Big Bang cosmology
• The Hubble Deep Field - probing the most distant galaxies
• The MAP Mission - measuring the cosmic microwave background

Exam Number 2: Friday, May 30, 2008 at 11 AM in Leverone Auditorium

• cosmology (continued): cosmic acceleration and dark energy
• the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

Chapters 19 and 20
• The SETI Institute - the scientific approach to the ET issue

NOTE: This class will not meet on Monday, June 2

Paper Due: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 3:30 PM in Dearborn Observatory

NOTE: There will be no final exam.