Course Syllabus
29:61 General Astronomy
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Fall Semester 2005

Steven R. Spangler
705 Van Allen Hall
319-335-1948
steven-spangler@uiowa.edu
http://phobos.physics.uiowa.edu/$\sim$srs/

General Astronomy is an introductory course in astronomy, intended for science majors. This first semester, 29:61, deals with astronomical fundamentals such as time, the sky, and seasons, as well as the astronomy and astrophysics of the solar system. The second semester, 29:62, deals with stellar, galactic, and extragalactic astronomy. General Astronomy, 29:61, is primarily directed towards students majoring in the physical sciences, such as astronomy, and the mathematical sciences, such as computer science. However, there is no reason why students majoring in other disciplines cannot take this course, assuming that they have had adequate high school mathematics and science instruction.

General Course Information

1. Lectures are from 9:30 to 10:20 AM, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in Room 70 of Van Allen Hall.
2. There is a laboratory associated with this course, which all students must attend. Students will be registered for Section 11, which meets 8 - 10 PM, Monday, in room 666 of Van Allen Hall, or Section 21 which meets on Tuesday, 8 - 10 PM, in room 666. Activities in the lab consist of naked eye and telescopic observations of the sky, observations with a remote, computer-controlled telescope of the University of Iowa, work with astronomical data sets on the internet, and physics experiments of astrophysical importance. Please note that students must receive a passing grade in the laboratory to receive a passing grade for the course.
3. The required textbook for the course is Moons and Planets by William K. Hartmann (5th edition), and the lab manual, Imaging the Universe, by Robert Mutel and Justin Cook.
4. The level of mathematics employed in this class assumes that students are concurrently enrolled in a course in differential calculus (22M:25 or equivalent). However, students who have taken the equivalent of four years of high school mathematics, including pre-calculus, will be able to follow the discussions.
5. Office hours for Professor Spangler are 1:00 to 2:00 Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, 11:00AM to 12:00 PM, Thursday, or by appointment if attendance during these times is not possible.
6. One hour exams will be held in the regular class period on October 5 and November 18.
7. The final exam will be held on Friday, December 16, 2005 at 7:30 AM (``it builds character'') in room 70, Van Allen Hall.
8. Homework will be assigned, collected and graded. The purpose of these exercises is to get you to actively think about what is presented in class. I hope to assign a homework assignment every week. The total score of all homework assignments will count the same as one exam. Students are encouraged to work in groups of 2 to 3 on these. I also expect and want students to come and talk to me about these.
9. 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 clear nights, Monday through Thursday, at 9:00 PM. The time will be moved earlier as the semester progresses. 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 personally direct several of these sessions during the semester, and stress features of the planets that we have discussed in class. In addition, I plan to organize observing sessions at the observatory of the Cedar Amateur Astronomers near Mt. Vernon, Iowa.
10. There is a World Wide Web homepage associated with the course, (URL given above). Go to the link for 29:61. The website contains lecture material 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.
11. 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.
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 equally for a total of 75 % of the total number of points. The lab score will constitute the remaining 25 % of the total score. The grading scale will be as follows: $\geq$ 90 % = A; $\geq$ 80 % = B; $\geq$ 70 % = C; and $\geq$ 50 % = D. To pass the course, a student must obtain 50 % or more of the maximum number of points. I employ + and - grades for students near the boundaries between grades.
13. It is recommended and expected that students attend and participate in all classes, with allowance made for reasonable excuses. Lecture material will be partially available on the web, but the intent of this 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.

Below is listed the set of topics to be discussed in the semester, together with textbook references where appropriate.

List of topics to be covered
I. Time and the Sky

1. Introduction; what and where is outer space. Definition in terms of the pressure scale height of the Earth's atmosphere (parts of Chapter 11). A whirlwind tour of the solar system (Chapter 2).

2. Coordinate Systems in Astronomy.

• Horizon System
• Celestial Coordinate System; based on orientation of the Earth's rotation axis. The idea and importance of the tangent plane.
• Ecliptic coordinates.

3. Time and the Seasons

• Mean solar time
• Sidereal time
• ``The equation of time'', leap years, etc.
• Lunar calendars

4. Eclipses

• Solar and lunar eclipses. Aristarchus of Samos and the relative distance to the Moon.
• Cyclical behavior of eclipses

5. Planetary (& other) Orbits (Chapter 3)

• The two body problem
• Kepler's Laws as a consequence of the two body problem; the circular orbit and vis-viva equations
• Orbital elements
• Tides

6. Telescopes: Optical, Radio, and other wavelengths

• Collecting area
• Angular resolution

II. Exploration of the Solar System

7. Exploration of the Moon (Chapter 9)

• Physical properties of the Moon
• Main surface features of the Moon: craters, maria, etc
• Scientific results from the Apollo Program landings
• Radioisotope dating of Moon rocks
• The origin of the Moon

8. The Terrestrial Planets (parts of several chapters)

• The Earth as a planet: atmosphere and magnetosphere
• Mercury and tidal synchronization (a hint for properties of binary stars); the Messenger spacecraft
• A tour of Venus
• Properties of electromagnetic waves; blackbody radiation
• Venus and the Greenhouse Effect
• An exploration of Mars: ancient rivers and hematite (Chapter 13)

9. Why do some planets have atmosphere? (Chapter 11)

10. The Jovian Planets (Chapter 8)

• Where are they in the solar system?
• Masses and radii, and what that tells you
• Structures of the Jovian planets
• Magnetospheres of the Jovian planets

11. Moons of the Outer Planets: Europa, Titan, and methane oceans

12. The Asteroids (Chapters 6 & 7)

• General properties
• Orbital resonances & Kirkwood's Gaps
• Meteors from the asteroid belt

13. Comets (Chapters 6 & 7)

• General properties
• Orbits of comets
• Meteors from comets
• Spacecraft exploration of comets

14. Denizens of Deep Space: the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud (Chapter 7)

15. The Sun as a Solar System Object

• Overall properties of the Sun
• The solar photosphere
• The solar corona
• The solar wind
• Solar disturbances and their impact on Earth

16. The Formation of the Solar System (Chapter 5)