Astronomy 161 (Prof. Martini, Winter 2010)

Astronomy 161
Introduction to Solar System Astronomy
Prof. Paul Martini

Unit 6: The Solar System: Lecture 29: Overview of the Solar System [Feb 18] Chapter 6; Lecture 30: Origin of the Solar System [Feb 19] Chapter 6, Animation of the Solar System Formation; Lecture 31: Sunny Mercury [Feb 22] Section 7, 8.6, Mercury Collision Video; Lecture 32: Veiled Venus [Feb 23] Section 7, 8.4; Lecture 33: Red Mars [Feb 24] Section 7, 8.5; Lecture 34: Asteroids and Meteorites [Feb 25] Section 11.5, 12.1-12.5; Lecture 35: Gas Giants: Jupiter and Saturn [Mar 1] Chapter 9 Voyager approach to Jupiter; Lecture 36: Moons of Jupiter [Mar 2] Section 11.3 Animation of the orbits of Jupiter's Moons; Lecture 37: Moons of Saturn [Mar 3] Section 11.1, Saturn Family Tour Video Slides shown in class; Lecture 38: Ice Giants: Uranus and Neptune [Mar 4] Chapter 9; Lecture 39: Planetary Rings [Mar 5] Section 11.2 Animation of Saturn's Outer Ring; Lecture 40: Outer Solar System [Mar 8] Section 11.4; Lecture 41: Comets [Mar 9] Section 12.6; Lecture 42: Planets in Comparison Section 7.1,7.2,8.2,9.2 (removed due to snow day on Feb 16, 2010)

Related Readings:: Readings from 21st Century Astronomy as noted above

Web links for Further Exploration in Unit 6: Views of the Solar System by Calvin J. Hamilton; Mercury Messenger Spacecraft; Venus Express; NASA's Mars Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity); NASA's Galileo Mission to Jupiter; NASA's Cassini-Huyygens Mission to Saturn and Titan; NASA New Horizons Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt; NASA Stardust Comet Sample Return Mission

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.

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