ASTRON 103: The Evolving Universe, Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology. 3 credits Spring Semester, 2017

Transcription

1 ASTRON 103: The Evolving Universe, Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology 3 credits Spring Semester, 2017 Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin Madison Lecture 002: M, W 8:50 a.m. 9:40 a.m Sterling Lecture 001: M, W 9:55 a.m. 10:45 a.m Sterling Instructor: Jordan D. Marché II, Ph.D. jdmarche@wisc.edu Office: 2508 Sterling Office Hours: 11:00 a.m. 12 noon; 1:00 2:00 p.m., M, W (and by appointment) Home Phone: Course Website: astronomy-103/ Teaching Assistants: Erika Carlson (sections 303, 304, 305, 307, 310, 312) ecarlson@astro.wisc.edu Tim Haines (sections 301, 302, 311) thaines@astro.wisc.edu Emily Leiner (sections 306, 308, 309) leiner@astro.wisc.edu * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Discussion Sections (you must be enrolled in & attend one of the following): Section Day Time Room, Building 301 M 1:20 2:10 p.m Sterling 302 M 4:35 5:25 p.m Sterling 303 T 3:30 4:20 p.m Sterling 304 W 4:35 5:25 p.m Sterling 305 R 1:20 2:10 p.m Sterling 306 F 9:55 10:45 a.m Sterling

2 307 W 2:25 3:15 p.m Sterling 308 M 1:20 2:10 p.m Sterling 309 T 3:30 4:20 p.m. B113 Van Vleck 310 T 4:35 5:25 p.m Sterling 311 R 1:20 2:10 p.m. B231 Van Vleck 312 F 9:55 10:45 a.m Sterling Text: Michael A. Seeds and Dana E. Backman, Stars and Galaxies (9th ed., 2016), Cengage Learning, paperback. (ISBN-13: ) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lecture Outline PART I. Reading Assignment (text) Week 1 M Jan. 16 Martin Luther King Day (No Class) W Jan. 18 Introduction to course. Ch. 1, pp. 1-8; Appendix A, Problem-solving skills. pp. A3-A5. Week 2 M Jan. 23 Daily, Annual Motions. Ch. 2, pp ; 17; Seasons. Precession. W Jan. 25 Phases of Moon. Solar and Ch. 3, pp ; Ch. 5, pp Lunar Eclipses. Tides. Week 3 M Jan. 30 Celestial Sphere. Cel. Equator. Ch. 2, pp ; review pp ; Ecliptic. Coordinate Systems. Ch. 4, pp Retrograde Motions of Planets. W Feb. 1 Copernican Revolution; Brahe; Ch. 4, pp. 59; 62-70; Kepler; Laws of Planetary Motion.

3 Week 4 M Feb. 6 Newtonian Synthesis. Gravita- Ch. 5, pp tion. Newton s Version of Kepler s Third Law. Escape Velocity. W Feb. 8 Einstein and Relativity: Ch. 5, pp Special, General Theories. Week 5 M Feb. 13 Light. Electromagnetic Ch. 6, pp ; Spectrum. Color-Temperature Ch. 7, pp Relations (Wien s Law). W Feb. 15 Continuous, Emission, Ch. 7, pp ; Absorption Spectra. Doppler Effect. Week 6 M Feb. 20 Optical Telescopes: Magnifica- Ch. 6, pp ; tion, Light Grasp, Resolution. Space Astronomy. PART II. W Feb. 22 EXAM I. Week 7 M Feb. 27 Sun: Energy Physics [primer]. Ch. 8, pp External, Internal Structures. W Mar. 1 Sunspots. Solar Magnetic Ch. 8, pp Fields. Maunder Minimum. Week 8 M Mar. 6 Sun s Energy Generation: Ch. 8, pp Nuclear Fusion. Solar Neutrinos. W Mar. 8 Stars: Apparent Magnitudes. Ch. 2, pp ; Parallax, Distances. Absolute Ch. 9, pp Magnitudes. Luminosities. Week 9 M Mar. 13 Binary, Variable Stars. Period- Ch. 9, pp ; Luminosity Relation (Cepheids). Ch. 12, pp W Mar. 15 Spectral Classification. H-R Ch. 9, pp ; Diagram. Stellar Mass, Luminosity, Lifetime. Week 10 M Mar. 20 Spring Recess (No Class) W Mar. 22 Spring Recess (No Class)

4 Week 11 M Mar. 27 Interstellar Medium. Star, Ch. 10, pp ; ; Planetary Formation ; Ch. 11, pp W Mar. 29 Evolution of Low-Mass Stars Ch. 11, pp ; 243; (Sun). White Dwarfs. Super- Ch. 12, pp ; novae (in Binary Systems). Ch. 13, pp Week 12 M Apr. 3 Evolution of Middle- and High- Ch. 13, pp ; Mass Stars. Supernovae. Neu- Ch. 14, pp tron Stars. Pulsars. W Apr. 5 Black Holes. Gamma-Ray Bursts. Ch. 14, pp Gravitational Waves. Week 13 M Apr. 10 EXAM II. PART III. W Apr. 12 Milky Way Galaxy. Stellar Ch. 15, pp ; Populations. Open, Globular Ch. 12, pp ; Clusters. Galactic Nucleus. Ch. 15, pp Week 14 M Apr. 17 Spiral, Elliptical Galaxies. Ch. 16, pp ; Spiral Arm Formation. Ch. 15, pp ; Rotation Curves; Dark Matter. Ch. 16, pp ; Ch. 18, pp W Apr. 19 Galaxy Clusters. Interactions. Ch. 16, pp ; Superclusters & Voids. Radio Ch. 18, pp ; Astronomy. Gravitational Len- Ch. 6, pp ; ; ses. Ch. 10, pp ; Ch. 16, pp Week 15 M Apr. 24 Active Galactic Nucleii (AGNs). Ch. 17, pp Quasars. Supermassive Black Holes. W Apr. 26 Velocity-Distance Relation Ch. 16, pp ; (Hubble s Law). Expansion of Ch. 18, pp Universe. Week 16 M May 1 Cosmic Microwave Background Ch. 18, pp ; Radiation (CMBR). Origin of Matter. Age, Fate of Universe. W May 3 Inflationary Universe. Accel- Ch. 18, pp eration. Dark Energy. Course Evaluation.

5 Week 17 FINAL EXAM TIMES: Lecture 001: T May 9, :45 p.m. Location: TBA Lecture 002: W May 10, :05 a.m. Location: TBA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Course Information Description: An introduction to descriptive astronomy and the nature of stars, galaxies, and the Universe as a whole. Topics include: the celestial sphere, astronomical coordinate systems, light and the electromagnetic spectrum; optical telescopes; the Sun; stars and stellar evolution; the Milky Way Galaxy; spiral and elliptical galaxies; dark matter; galaxy clusters/interactions; active galaxies; expansion of the Universe; acceleration and dark energy. The course consists of lectures and discussions. Reading Assignments: Reading assignments from the textbook (Seeds and Backman) are given on the course outline. With the exception of the first lecture, students are expected to have read the assigned materials before coming to class on the given dates. Lectures: Lectures are illustrated with Powerpoint slides, along with other demonstrations and visual aids, to try and express abstract concepts in concrete terms. Lectures are not posted on the class website, although exceptions might be made in rare cases (e.g., weather-related class cancellation). Discussion Sections: You must be enrolled in and attend one of the twelve weekly discussion sections. The purpose of discussion sections is to clarify terms, concepts, and questions not adequately understood from readings, lectures, and homework assignments. Discussions are facilitated by the course Teaching Assistant (TA). Come prepared to ask, as well as to answer, questions about the course contents. Homework Assignments: Ten homework assignments, all equally weighted, will be distributed in lecture (and concurrently posted on the course website); they will be due one week later, also in lecture. Apart from illness or family emergency, late homework assignments will not be accepted after the end of class on the due date. If you cannot make it to lecture, you may turn in your homework before the lecture in the instructor s mailbox on the second floor of Sterling Hall, or at his office. Show your work to receive full credit! Graded homeworks will be returned in discussion sections. To facilitate prompt grading and return of your homeworks, please write your discussion section after your name on each assignment. Homeworks must be submitted as hard copy; neither versions, nor document attachments, will be accepted (compatibility issues). Exams: Two in-class exams, plus a final exam, are given during the semester. All exams are equally weighted (25%). Exams will consist of multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank and matching-type questions, drawn from reading assignments, lectures, discussions, and homeworks. Calculators are permitted during exams, although usually only simple arithmetic will be needed to solve numeric-answer questions. If you cannot take an exam because of illness or family emergency, you must notify the instructor or department on or before the day of the exam, and explain why.

6 Grading: Course grades are determined on the following basis. Exam I: 25% Exam II: 25% Final Exam (not cumulative): 25% Homework 25% TOTAL 100% A straight scale is assumed throughout: 92% A 100% 88% AB < 92% 82% B < 88% 78% BC < 82% 70% C < 78% 60% D < 70% 0% F < 60% Attendance/participation: Your attendance and participation at each class meeting are vital. Lower grades are correlated with poorer attendance. To receive the maximum educational benefit from this course, students are expected to attend the full length of each regular class meeting (lecture and discussion section). Special accommodations: Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should first contact the McBurney Disability Resource Center on campus and then notify me privately to discuss the situation. Every effort will be made towards reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Planetarium: During Weeks 3 & 4, each discussion section will have an opportunity to visit the Astronomy Department s planetarium, located on the 7 th floor of Sterling Hall, for a demonstration of concepts pertinent to the celestial sphere and geocentric motions. Take the elevator to the 7 th floor. Washburn Observatory: The Observatory is normally open to the public (including you!) on the first and third Wednesday nights of the month, weather permitting. Check the Astronomy Department s website, for hours of the next upcoming session. Woodman Astronomical Library (6515 Sterling Hall): Visit the Library s website for their regular semester hours (and where a reserve copy of the course textbook is available): Honors Students: If you have signed up for honors credit in this course, you should meet with the instructor by the end of the third week of class to discuss an honors project. Only projects approved by the instructor will be considered for honors credit. Projects must involve independent study/research and result in a written report by the semester s end. If you later decide not to complete an honors project, you will have to drop the honors credit and re-register for the normal course credit before a final course grade can be issued. Academic Dishonesty: Copying of another student s work, on homeworks or exams, constitutes plagiarism (a form of cheating) and if detected may result in formal disciplinary action. Each student is responsible for his/her

7 own work on all formal assessments (homeworks and exams). If you are in doubt about UW s policy on academic dishonesty, please inform yourself about it (the UW Student Handbook is the place to begin). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Educational Outcomes (Learning Objectives) At the end of this course, the majority of students will be able to: 1. Describe the significant contributions of Ancient and Renaissance astronomers to our understanding of the solar system. 2. Use a star map to find the positions of astronomical objects in the night sky. 3. Describe the three apparent motions of celestial objects, as viewed from Earth s surface, and explain them according to three actual motions of the Earth. 4. Describe/explain the astronomical coordinates of celestial objects, in the horizon and equatorial systems, and whether objects are circumpolar or not, as seen from a given locality on Earth. 5. Recognize the waxing and waning phases of the Moon, and to understand their observational relationships to the Sun in the evening and morning skies. 6. Explain the occurrences of solar and lunar eclipses, and why they do not happen more often. 7. Discuss the changing locations of sunrise and sunset along the horizon during the course of one year, and explain the apparent changes in the Sun s noontime altitude in relation to the seasons. 8. Describe/explain the cause of a planet s apparent retrograde motion against the background stars. 9. Understand leading telescope properties such as magnification, light grasp, and angular resolution. 10. Discuss leading properties of the electromagnetic spectrum with reference to wavelengths and frequencies of the energies found therein. 11. Describe the three kinds of (optical) spectra, and how they may be used to learn the compositions and motions of celestial bodies. 12. Describe the external and internal structures of the Sun, along with the nature of sunspots and magnetic cycles found on the solar surface. 13. Discuss the Sun s nuclear energy source and its expected lifetime. 14. Illustrate or explain the way in which geometric parallaxes of stars are observed and their distances from the Sun derived. 15. Describe the modern system of stellar spectral classification and the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.

8 16. Discuss the importance of binary-star systems and Cepheid variable stars in the determination of stellar masses and distances (Period-Luminosity relation). 17. Describe the complete evolution of a one solar-mass star (the Sun) from beginning to end. 18. Describe the latter evolutionary stages of middle- and high-mass stars and their final byproducts (neutron stars and black holes). 19. Sketch and/or describe the appearance of our Milky Way Galaxy as seen from outside, and the two principal populations of stars that comprise it. 20. Discuss the major categories of galaxies and evidence concerning the existence of dark matter within spiral galaxies. 21. Explain the leading model describing the behavior of Active Galactic Nucleii (and quasars). 22. Describe the evidence supporting the Velocity-Distance relation (Hubble s Law) and its implications for the origin and age of the Universe. 23. Discuss the significance of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) to our understanding of the early history of the Universe. 24. Describe the evidence supporting an acceleration of the Universe s expansion (i.e., Dark Energy).