Astronomy 161
Introduction to Solar System Astronomy
Winter Quarter 2008
Mon Wed Fri 11:30 a.m. - 12:48 pm
Course Instructor: Prof. Krzysztof (Kris) Stanek
Office: 4035 McPherson Lab (fourth floor), 140 W. 18th Ave.
The Final Exam will be on Monday, March 10, at 11:30 am. - 1:18 p.m.
(On selected nights during the quarter, there will be a planetarium
show in Smith Laboratory, followed by an opportunity to view the
sky through a 12-inch aperture telescope.)
(compiled by Professor Rick Pogge for his section of Astronomy 161,
but we cover much the same topics in our section)
(highly recommended source of astronomical images, new one every day)
(handy compilation of photos from NASA planetary missions)
(our textbook)
For review purposes, I will be posting my PowerPoint slides for each
lecture, in the PDF (Portable Document Format) format (and also the
original .ppt format). For some lectures, I will also provide links to
other useful sources of information.
Friday, January 4, 2008:
Introduction to Astronomy
[PDF],
[PPT]
Monday, January 7, 2008:
The Celestial Sphere
[PDF],
[PPT]
Daily Motion of Stars (QuickTime animation courtesy of Prof. Rick Pogge)
Annual Motion of Sun (QuickTime animation courtesy of Prof. Rick Pogge)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008:
Seasons & Calendars
[PDF],
[PPT]
Friday, January 11, 2008:
Moon Phases & Eclipses
[PDF],
[PPT]
Lunation
(movie of Moon Phases)
Lunar Eclipse
(animation)
Moon Shadow
(animation)
Monday, January 14, 2008:
From Ptolemy to Copernicus
[PDF],
[PPT]
Retrograde motion of Venus (thanks to Deokkeun An and Subo Dong)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008:
Tycho, Kepler, & Galileo
[PDF],
[PPT]
The Phases of Venus (movie)
Moons of Jupiter (movie)
Sunspots on the Rotating Sun (movie)
Friday, January 18, 2008:
MIDTERM 1
Wednesday, January 23, 2008:
Newton's Laws
[PDF],
[PPT]
Friday, January 25, 2008:
Applying Newton's Laws
[PDF],
[PPT]
Monday, January 28, 2008:
Light
[PDF],
[PPT]
Wednesday, January 30, 2008:
Spectra
[PDF],
[PPT]
Friday, February 1, 2008:
Telescopes
[PDF],
[PPT]
Images from the LBT
Monday, February 4, 2008:
Solar System Survey
[PDF],
[PPT]
Wednesday, February 6, 2008:
Origin of the Solar System
[PDF],
[PPT]
Friday, February 8, 2008:
MIDTERM 2
Monday, February 11, 2008:
Planets Around Other Stars
[PDF],
[PPT]
Wednesday, February 13, 2008:
The Earth
[PDF],
[PPT]
Friday, February 15, 2008:
Earth's Atmosphere
[PDF],
[PPT]
Monday, February 18, 2008:
The Moon
[PDF],
[PPT]
Wednesday, February 20, 2008:
Mercury & Venus
[PDF],
[PPT]
MESSENGER - mission to Mercury
Venus Express -
now in orbit around Venus
Friday , February 22, 2008:
Mars
[PDF],
[PPT]
Mars
Exploration Rover Mission (Lastest news from Spirit and
Opportunity rovers on Mars)
Monday, February 25, 2008:
Jupiter & Saturn
[PDF],
[PPT]
Cassini-Huygens
mission to Saturn & Titan
Wednesday, February 27, 2008:
Moons of Jupiter & Saturn
[PDF],
[PPT]
The Jupiter Satellite Page
(Provides the latest ``moon count'' for all the planets)
Friday, February 29, 2008:
MIDTERM
Monday, March 3, 2008:
Uranus & Neptune; Pluto, Eris ... and Beyond
[PDF],
[PPT]
New Horizons - Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission
Wednesday, March 5, 2008:
Asteroids
[PDF],
[PPT]
Friday, March 7, 2008:
Comets
[PDF],
[PPT]
The course grade will be determined from the results of 3 in-class midterms
and the final exam. See the course syllabus
for more details on exams and the makeup and grading policies.
Exam 1: Friday, January 18
(see the study guide)
(see the Midterm 1 score distrbution: median=72%)
Exam 2: Friday, February 8
(see the study guide)
(see the Midterm 2 score distrbution: median=74%)
Exam 3: Friday, February 29
(see the study guide)
Final Exam: Monday, March 10, 11:30 am - 1:18 pm
(see the Final Exam study guide)
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Updated: Mon Feb 11 10:27:01 EST 2008