Course Syllabus
29:52 Exploration of the Solar System
Spring Semester 2008

Steven R. Spangler
705 Van Allen Hall
335-1948
steven-spangler@uiowa.edu
http://phobos.physics.uiowa.edu/$\sim$srs/

Exploration of the Solar System is a study of solar system astronomy for non-science majors. Since deep in prehistory, human beings have been fascinated with the objects of the solar system, the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and comets, as well as the rhythms of their motions in the sky. Understanding of the solar system has progressed steadily since the beginning of modern science with Galileo and Newton. The Golden Age of this subject began exactly fifty years ago, in late 1957 and 1958, with the launches of the first spacecraft in Russia and the United States. The University of Iowa played a dominant role in the beginning of this age of exploration; Professor James Van Allen and his group built the principal instrument on Explorer I, the first US spacecraft, launched January 31, 1958. This age of exploration vigorously continues; the Mars Phoenix spacecraft is scheduled to land at the south pole of Mars at the end of the semester. This course will touch on all aspects of solar system astronomy. We will study aspects of time, seasons, and the appearance of the sky which were well known to Babylonian priests 3000 years ago, but are unknown to modern city dwellers. We will also discuss the latest findings from spacecraft, which show us the beauty and variety of the solar system, and which give us insight into its origins.

General Course Information

1. Lectures are from 10:30 to 11:20 AM, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in Lecture Room 2 of Van Allen Hall.
2. The required textbook for the course is Astronomy, Volume I Solar System (Fifth Edition) by John D. Fix
3. Office hours for Professor Spangler are 2:30 to 3:30, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon, or by appointment if these times are inconvenient.
4. One hour exams will be held in the regular class period on March 5 and April 21.
5. The final exam will be held on Monday, May 12, 2008, at 2:15 PM in Lecture Room 2.
6. University policy requires that students be permitted to make up examinations missed because of illness, mandatory religious obligations, certain University activities, or unavoidable circumstances. However, it is the student's responsibility to contact the instructor as soon as the student is aware that the exam will be missed. Please note that University policy also requires excused absences to be documented. Excused absence forms are available from the Registrar's web site, http://www.registrar.uiowa.edu/forms/absence.pdf.
7. Homework problems will be posed in class as a way of having students actively participate in the learning experience. Short, in-class quizzes over the homework problems will be given approximately every other week in the Friday class. The total score of all homework assignments will count the same as one exam. Students are encouraged to work together on these problems. I also expect and want students to come and talk to me about these. The total score of all homework assignments will count the same as one exam. The lowest quiz score will be dropped; as a result, no makeups will be given for the quizzes.
8. In all astronomy courses which I teach, I emphasize observation of the night sky. In this class, there will be two mandatory field trips. Attendance will be required. (a) Students should keep free the evening of February 20, from 7 - 10 PM, when a total eclipse of the Moon will occur. We will observe the eclipse from the roof of Van Allen Hall. There will be plenty of opportunities to go downstairs and warm up during the eclipse, but wear warm clothes. (b) The nights of March 31 and April 2 will be reserved for field trips to the Eastern Iowa Observatory and Learning Center near Mt. Vernon. Students will go on one of these nights, and will be assigned alphabetically to one or the other night. The observatory is an excellent facility in a dark sky site. This trip will be dedicated to study of the night sky and observations of the planets Mars and Saturn. Other, optional observing opportunities will be announced during the semester.
9. There is a World Wide Web homepage associated with the course, (URL given above). Go to the link for 29:52, Exploration of the Solar System. The website contains lecture notes and homework assignments. It also serves as a gateway to other astronomical links such as the homepages for spacecraft that provide data we will discuss this semester.
10. 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.
11. Classroom Environment: Students have the right to a classroom environment that encourages learning. The ability to learn is lessened when students engage in inappropriate behavior, distracting others. Such inappropriate behavior is a violation of the Code of Student Life. Activities which are unacceptable are (1) prolonged, audible conversation with a fellow student (not a brief comment to someone, which is OK), and (2) talking on cell phones. Please turn off cell phones when in class.
12. The grading policy for this course will be as follows. The grade will be based on the percentage of the maximum number of points. The three exams and the homework will each contribute 25 % of the total number of points. The grading scale will be as follows: $>$ 85 % = A; $>$ 75 % = B; $>$ 60 % = C; and $>$ 50 % = D. To pass the course, a student must obtain 50 % or more of the maximum number of points. This grading curve differs from that I have traditionally used, in that the grade will be assigned on an absolute basis rather than the standing of a student relative to his or her peers. I employ + and - grades for students near the boundaries between grades.
13. It is recommended and expected that students attend all classes, with allowance made for reasonable excuses. I expect to make notes available on the web, but the intent of these is to assist and aid students who come to hear and participate in the lectures, and save them some clerical work. The on-line lecture notes are not intended as a substitute for class participation.
14. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has extensive, on-line material on plagiarism and academic fraud (don't do it), mechanisms for student complaints about the class or the instructor, and other matters. See the following URL: http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic-handbook/ix.shtml (use underscore rather than hyphen between ``academic'' and ``handbook'').

Schedule of Topics

Date	Topic	Textbook Reference
Jan 23- 25	Initial Pleasantries, The Sky	Chapter 1
Jan 28 - Feb 1	Patterns in the Sky	Chapter 2
Feb 4-8	History of Astronomy, Ancient & Modern	Chapter 3 & 4
Feb 11-15	Gravity and Orbits	Chapter 5
Feb 18-22	Solar System Overview: Physical Processes	Chapter 7
Feb 25-29	The Earth as a Planet	Chapter 8
Mar 3-7	The Moon: Clues for the Solar System	Chapter 9
March 5	First Hour Exam	--
Mar 10-14	Mercury and Venus	Chapter 10
Mar 24-28	Mars: a 4 Billion Year Old ``Cold Case''& Chapter 11
Mar 31- Apr 4	Jupiter and Saturn: The Giant Planets	Chapter 12
Apr 7-11	The Outer Limits: Uranus, Neptune, and Others	Chapter 13
Apr 14-18	Satellites: The Many Moons of the Solar System	Chapter 14
April 21	Second Hour Exam	--
Apr 23-25	Meteors, Asteroids, and Comets	Chapter 15
Apr 28-May 2	The Sun: Center of the Solar System	Chapter 17
May 5-9	Where Did It Come From? Formation of the Solar System	Chapter 18
May 12	2:15 PM: Final Exam -- Lecture Room 2, VAN	--