MTWRF 9:30-10:18 a.m. in EL 2003
Here is our syllabus (PDF format).
Out textbook is:
21st
Century Astronomy (2nd edition) by J. Hester et al. (you can also
use 21st
Century Astronomy: Stars and Galaxies, but don't buy both).
We will explore the huge variety of stars, ranging from ultra-dense
white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, to giant stars, and show
how all can be understood within a simple framework. We will then
study how stars and interstellar gas and dust assemble to form our
Galaxy, which extends over 100,000 light years. We will also show that
our Galaxy and others like it are held together by an omnipresent but
unseen "dark matter". We will explore the origin of the universe,
showing how direct observations lead inexorably to the conclusion that
the universe formed in a giant explosion 13 billion years ago.
Finally, we will discuss the mounting evidence that most of the
Universe consists of "dark energy".
Week 2: Stars I: Color-Magnitude Diagram; Main-Sequence. (Chapter 13.3-13.5);
Week 3: Stars II: Internal Structure; Energy Production. (Chapter 14);
Week 4: Stars III: Stellar Evolution (Chapter 16, 17);
Class schedule:
Week 1: Map of the Universe, Distances in the Universe. (Chapter 13.1, 13.2); Some useful links:
Astronomy H162 Image Gallery