Astronomy 161 (Prof. Martini, Winter 2010)

Astronomy 161
Introduction to Solar System Astronomy
Prof. Paul Martini

Unit 1: Introduction to Astronomy: Lecture 1: Introduction to Astronomy [Jan 4] Chapter 1; Lecture 2: Mapping the Earth and Sky [Jan 5] Chapter 1

Related Readings:: Readings from 21st Century Astronomy as noted above; Math and Units Review Sheet

Web links for Further Exploration in Unit 1: Video that demonstrates the scale of the Universe from the American Museum of Natural History; Dates of the Equinoxes, Solstices, Perihelion, and Aphelion; National Time Standard at NIST; Current Definitions of the International Systems of Units; Wikipedia Article on Ancient World Maps

The links to the lectures reproduce the electronic overheads shown in class for each of the lectures. In some cases they have additional text and links covering supplemental material or graphics. Online lecture notes are made available starting the week in which the lectures occur, but some notes may not be accessible until later in the week if I am having problems translating them into a web-accessible form.

Please feel free to print out copies of these lecture outlines in advance of class, so you can follow along with the lecture. Many students find this helps them listen without the pressure of taking down detailed notes of their own, but while still making additional notes in the margins to highlight particularly emphasized points.

See A Note about Graphics to learn why some of the graphics shown in the lectures are not reproduced with these notes.

Students looking to explore these topics further using the Internet might want to look at Prof. Richard Pogge's Selected Astronomical Internet Links for this unit.

[ Return to the Astronomy 161 Main Page | Go forward to Unit 2 ]