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{\bf Course Syllabus\\
29:50 Modern Astronomy\\
Fall Semester 2003}\\
\par
Steven R. Spangler\\
705 Van Allen Hall\\
335-1948\\
steven-spangler@uiowa.edu\\
http://phobos.physics.uiowa.edu/$\sim$srs/\\
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{\em Modern Astronomy} is an introductory survey  of the science of astronomy, 
intended for students who are not majoring in the natural 
sciences.  This is an exciting time to study astronomy. Major discoveries 
have been made in recent times which affect our view of the universe. 
Many of these discoveries result from the large number of 
spacecraft which continue to return pictures and data from space. These data 
are shared with people everywhere via the Internet, and are a tremendous 
teaching resource.
Lectures will be regularly 
supplemented with these findings. I also plan to emphasize those phenomena which 
can be seen with the unaided eye in the night sky. \\
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{\bf General Course Information}
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\item Lectures are from 1:30 to 2:20 PM Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in Lecture Room 1 of Van Allen Hall.
\item There is a laboratory associated with this course. 
Students registered for the laboratory receive 4 semester hours of credit 
and satisfy the General Education requirement of a natural science laboratory.
 Students registered 
for 3 semester hours do not attend the laboratory. 
 Students 
registered for 4 semester hours {\bf must} attend the laboratory section. The 
lab section meets for two hours per week in room 665 or 666 of Van Allen Hall. Laboratory 
classes do not meet the first week, but commence the week of September 1. 
Projects in the laboratory consist of taking and analysing astronomical observations 
with the Iowa Robotic Observatory of the University, and use of the graphics 
capabilities of personal computers to carry out various exercises. 
{\bf Please Note:} Those students registered for 4 semester hours {\em must} receive 
a passing grade in the laboratory portion of the course as well as the lecture portion in 
order to receive a passing grade for the course. 
\item The required textbook for the course is {\em Astronomy Volume II: Stars and Galaxies} by John D. Fix.
 Students registered for the laboratory will also need 
the lab manual {\em Imaging the Universe} by Robert Mutel and Michael Wilson.
\item Office hours for Professor Spangler are 2:30 - 3:30 Tuesday afternoon, or by appointment 
if this time is inconvenient. 
\item One hour exams will be held in the regular class period on 
 September 29, October 29,  and December 12. 
\item The final exam will be held on Tuesday, December 16 at 4:30PM  
in Lecture Room 1. 
Make-up exams will be allowed only for the most compelling circumstances, 
such as incapacitating illness or death in the immediate family. Documentation of the circumstances will be required. 
\item The grade in the course will be determined as follows. \\
For students registered for three semester hours (without lab), each of the 
four examinations will 
count for 25 percent of the course grade. For 
students registered for four semester hours (with lab), the sum total of 
the exam scores will count for 75 percent of the course grade, and the 
laboratory grade will count for the remaining 25 percent. {\bf It is to be emphasized} that 
a student registered for 4 semester hours will not receive a passing grade for the course as 
a whole unless he or she receives a passing grade for the laboratory portion. 
Final letter grades will be assigned on the basis of a student's standing relative to his or 
her peers. The following formula will be used: {\bf A:} 85th  percentile or greater; 
{\bf B:} 60th percentile or better; {\bf C:} 20th percentile or better; {\bf D or F:} 19th percentile and lower. To receive a passing 
grade, a student must earn 50 percent of the possible points on exams and lab reports. 
\item Students are encouraged to visit the observatory on the roof of Van Allen 
Hall to see the objects discussed in this class. 
 A laboratory 
instructor will be on duty on {\em clear} nights, Monday through Thursday, at 9:00 PM. 
The roof of Van Allen Hall may be reached from a stairway at the east end of the 
7th floor. The roof is kept dark during observing sessions, so be careful where you 
step and be alert for changes in elevation. I will also organize several ``field trips''
to an observatory at a dark sky site outside of Iowa City. 
\item There is a World Wide Web homepage associated with the course,\\ 
{\bf http://phobos.physics.uiowa.edu/$\sim$srs/}. Go to the link to 29:50, Modern Astronomy. 
The website contains lecture notes, homework assignments, and sample exams. It also 
serves as a gateway to other astronomical links such as the {\em Mars Exploration Rover} and Hubble Space 
Telescope homepages. 
\item I would like to hear from anyone who has a disability which may require some modification 
of seating, testing, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made. 
Please see me after class or during office hours. 

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{\bf Schedule of Topics}
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\begin{tabular}{||l|l|r||} \hline
{\bf Date} & {\bf Topic} & {\bf Reading} \\
\hline 
Aug. 25 & Initial pleasantries; what's in the night sky? & --\\
Aug. 27 & Overview of the solar system & Chap.2\\
Aug. 29 & Mars I & -- \\
Sept. 3 & Mars II & -- \\
Sept. 5,8 & Appearance of the night sky & 1,2 \\
Sept. 10 & Telescopes & 6 \\
Sept. 12,15  & The Sun as we see it & 17 \\
Sept. 17 & The nearest stars and how we know their distances. & 16\\
Sept. 19  & Bright stars and faint stars: the magnitude system & 16\\
Sept. 22,24 & Starlight & 6\\
Sept. 26 & The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram & 16\\
Sept. 29 & {\bf First Hour Exam} & --\\
Oct. 1,3 & What makes stars shine? Gravity \& nuclear fusion & 17\\
Oct. 6,8 & Where do stars come from? & 18 \\
Oct. 10 & Dark Clouds: chemistry sets in the sky & 18\\
Oct. 13 & The future of the Sun & 19\\
Oct. 15,17 & The future of stellar heavyweights & 19,20\\
Oct. 20 & neutron stars & 20 \\
Oct. 22 & Black Holes: what they are & 20 \\
Oct. 24 & Black Holes: are they out there? & 20\\
Oct. 27,31 & Stars like the Sun & --\\
Oct. 29 & {\bf Second Hour Exam} & -- \\
Nov. 3,5 & The structure of the Milky Way & 22 \\
Nov. 7 & Our galaxy and other galaxies & 23 \\
Nov. 10 & Galaxies and the universe & 23\\
Nov. 12 & Deep extragalactic space & 23\\
Nov. 14,17 & Quasars and Blazars & 24 \\
Nov. 19 & Dark Matter & 25\\
Nov. 21-Dec.5 & Cosmology: the fate of the universe & 25\\
Dec. 8 & Life in the universe & 27\\
Dec. 10 & Summary and overview & -- \\
{\bf December 12} & {\bf Third Hour Exam} & --- \\
{\bf December 16} & 4:30 PM: {\bf Final Exam}- LR1, VAN & --- \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
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