Astr201 http://www.astro.uvic.ca/~venn/a201.html Astr201: The Search for Life in the Universe 05/09/13 9:25 PM Fall 2013 A general science course designed to be accessible to students not majoring in science. An overview of modern scientific thought on the possibility of life beyond Earth and the current research being done to find it; the likeliest locations of life in our Solar System; the hunt for planets around other stars; the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Laboratories on alternate weeks; practical work includes observations with campus telescopes. Instructor: Kim Venn, Elliot 111, Tel. 472-5182, email: kvenn @ uvic.ca Lectures: Elliot 162, Tues 2:30-4:20 pm and Fri 2:30-3:20 pm. Office Hours: Monday 1:00-2:30 pm, or by appt. Textbook: Life in the Universe by Bennett and Shostak (3rd Ed) Labs: Please see the lab schedule A link to Jon Willis' astronomy 201 page A link to Russ Robb's astronomy 201 lab page Sky Maps: Click here Example: August Sky in the Northern Hemisphere Grading Scheme Midterm (Friday Oct 18): 25% Labs: 25% Assignments: 10% Final Exam (Exam Week: TBA): 40% A minimum grade of 50% in the laboratory component is required to pass the course. Approximately six assignments will be issued through the semester. Assignments will typically be due one week after the issue date. Late assignments will be accepted up to 24 hours after the due date (with a 25% grade penalty) at which point no more assignments will be accepted. Standard UVic grading conversion of numerical scores to letter grades will be followed (see here). Useful Links: NASA Astrobiology site: A great site for news and research. Astronomy picture of the day: new every day! Tuesday, September 10, 2013

In the News... Active NASA Mars rovers: Curiosity & Opportunity https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ Tuesday, September 10, 2013

61 Polaris # The Evening Sky Map FREE* EACH MONTH FOR YOU TO EXPLORE, LEARN & ENJOY THE NIGHT SKY Sky Calendar September 2013 The bright stars of Cassiopeia form a W-shape that is easy to recognize. Get Sky Calendar on Twitter http://twitter.com/skymaps 2 Moon near Mars (37 from Sun, morning sky) at 5h UT. Mag. +1.6. 2 Moon near Beehive Cluster (33 from Sun, morning sky) at 16h UT. 4 Moon near Regulus (12 from Sun, morning sky) at 11h UT. 5 New Moon at 11:35 UT. Start of lunation 1122. 6 Venus 1.6 NNE of Spica (40 from Sun, evening sky) at 4h UT. Mags. 4.0 and +1.0. 8 Moon, Venus and Spica within circle diameter 3.3 (32 from Sun, evening sky) at 15h UT. 8 Moon very near Spica (evening sky) at 16h UT. 8 Mars 0.2 S of Beehive Cluster (39 from Sun, morning sky) at 22h UT. Mag. +1.6. 8 Moon very near Venus (41 from Sun, evening sky) at 22h UT. Mag. 4.1. Spectacular occultation visible from southeast South America. 9 Moon near Saturn (51 from Sun, evening sky) at 18h UT. Mag. +0.7. 11 Moon near Antares (evening sky) at 23h UT. 12 First Quarter Moon at 17:09 UT. 15 Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 17h UT (367,391 km; angular size 32.5'). 18 Venus 3.5 SSW of Saturn (43 from Sun, evening sky) at 16h UT. Mags. 4.1 and +0.7. 19 Full Moon at 11:12 UT. 22 September equinox at 20:44 UT. The time when the Sun reaches the point along the ecliptic where it crosses into the southern celestial hemisphere marking the start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere. 24 Moon near the Pleiades (morning sky) at 6h UT. 27 Last Quarter Moon at 3:55 UT. 25 Mercury 0.7 NNE of Spica (22 from Sun, evening sky) at 1h UT. Mags. 0.1 and +1.0. 25 Moon near Aldebaran (112 from Sun, morning sky) at 2h UT. 27 Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 18h UT (distance 404,308 km; angular size 29.6'). 28 Moon near Jupiter (77 from Sun, morning sky) at 6h UT. Mag. 2.2. More sky events and links at http://skymaps.com/skycalendar/ All times in Universal Time (UT). (USA Eastern Summer Time = UT 4 hours.) E C L IPT I C CETUS ARIES! Hamal PISCES PERSEUS Circlet A N D R O M E D A The ancient constellation of Aquarius represents a young man pouring water from a jar into the mouth of a large fish, Piscis Austrinus. SAVE ON RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS http://skymaps.com/store Star Atlases & Planispheres Star Charts & Astro Posters Books for Sky Watchers Telescopes & Binoculars All sales support the production and free distribution of The Evening Sky Map. EAST Diphda NE SE! Capella WWW.SKYMAPS.COM M33 Algol Fomalhaut C A M E L O P A R D A L I S M31 Great Square of Pegasus A Q U A R I U S 7293 PISCIS A U S T R I N U S Double Cluster CASSIOPEIA P E G A S U S GRUS " Enif M2 M15 CEPHEUS CAPR ICORNUS L Y N X % 7009 $ M39! Deneb ) DELPHINUS NORTH From northern latitudes, stars appear to rotate around the North Celestial Pole (NCP). Summer Triangle M27 NCP CYGNUS & " U R S A MINOR Little Dipper Albireo Altair R A Q U I L A M81 Cr 399 M57 M82 Etamin L Y R A S A G I T T A R I U S Vega ) Nunki ' M11 D R A C O 6633 M92 SERPENS ( C A U D A ) M25 M22 The Teapot Thuban M16 U R S A M A J OR The Big Dipper M17 CORONA A U S T R A L I S IC 4665 The Summer Triangle Vega, Altair, and Deneb three bright stars overhead. INSTRUCTIONS: THE SKY MAP SHOWS THE ENTIRE NIGHT SKY FROM HORIZON-TO-HORIZON AS IT APPEARS ON CERTAIN DATES AND TIMES. THE CENTER OF THE MAP IS THE PART OF THE SKY DIRECTLY OVERHEAD (ZENITH) AND THE OUTER CIRCLE IS THE HORIZON. CELESTIAL OBJECTS ARE LOCATED BETWEEN THE ZENITH AND THE HORIZON. COMPASS DIRECTIONS ARE INDICATED ALONG THE HORIZON CIRCLE (FOR EXAMPLE NORTH ). TURN THE SKY MAP AROUND ITS CENTER (JUST AS YOU ARE DOING NOW) SO THE COMPASS DIRECTION THAT APPEARS ALONG THE BOTTOM OF THE MAP IS THE SAME AS THE DIRECTION THAT YOU FACE. BEGIN BY USING THE SKY MAP TO FIND A BRIGHT STAR PATTERN IN THE SKY. SOUTH TO POLARIS THE NORTH STAR M21 M13 M8 M23 M20 HERCULES ( M7 Mizar & Alcor CORONA BOREALIS M51 M10 OPHIUCHUS M6 M12 Gemma M94 SCORPIUS NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SEPTEMBER 2013 CANES V E N A T I C I Cor Caroli # Antares SERPENS (CAPUT) M4 M3 ) Arcturus M5 SKY MAP SHOWS HOW THE NIGHT SKY LOOKS EARLY SEPT 9 PM LATE SEPT 8 PM Use the Big Dipper (or Plough) to find Polaris, the North Star. NW SW BOÖTES LIBRA (Add 1 Hour For Daylight Saving) SKY MAP DRAWN FOR A LATITUDE OF 40 NORTH AND IS SUITABLE FOR LATITUDES UP TO 15 NORTH OR SOUTH OF THIS M64 VIRGO Galaxy Double Star Variable Star Diffuse Nebula Planetary Nebula Open Star Cluster Globular Star Cluster The Milky Way stretches across the sky. Ancient poets identified it as the road of the gods. Star Magnitudes WEST Symbols -1 0 1 2 3 4 Copyright 2000 2013 Kym Thalassoudis. All Rights Reserved. * TERMS OF USE: FREE FOR NON-COMMERCIAL EDUCATIONAL USE. ASTRONOMY EDUCATION GROUPS MAY FREELY DISTRIBUTE PRINTED HANDOUTS. FULL DETAILS AT http://skymaps.com/terms.html Tuesday, September 10, 2013