Introduction to Astronomy

ASTR100, Sections 0101-0107, Fall 2005, Prof. Harris
Lecture TTh 9:30-10:45, PHYS 1412

Breaking news:

Final exam scoring:
final exam distribution

Final grade distribution -- 66% of the class earned an A or a B.

Problem sets

Problem set assignments listed by due date

Class Information

General Information

Teaching staff

Contact information for the instructor, Prof. Andrew Harris
Dr. Harris' Office Hours (in CSS 1229): M 10:30-12 and by appointment.
Contact information for the discussion section instructors.

Times and places

Lectures are from 9:30-10:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays in PHYS 1412
Discussion sections follow this schedule in CSS 2400
Here's the campus map: we're in the Physics and Computer and Space Sciences buildings.
Exam dates

Textbook

Explorations: an introduction to astronomy, 4th edition, by Thomas Arny (McGraw-Hill, c. 2006), ISBN 0-07-250985-6. Editions from earlier years are usable and cheaper. They contain almost all of the material, but you'll have to get the right problems for homework from the current edition.

Extra credit assignment format

All written extra-credit assignments must be handed in in printed and electronic forms. Further instructions are here.

Code of Academic Integrity

From the Judicial Programs Office, pages related to the Code of Academic Integrity and definitions of academic dishonesty.
From Testudo, definintions of academic dishonesty.

Odds and ends

The Starry Night planetarium simulations from lecture on Tuesday, Sept 6 come from these files (to download them, use the "save link target as" or "save target as" command but restore the .snf file extension many browsers will try to change):

Motions of the sky, starting at 9:45 AM on Tuesday, Sept. 6 (you'll need to steer around to the different directions on your own)
Motions of the Sun and planets, showing mostly east to west motions but some loops of retrograde motion
Top view of the Solar system showing the Sun and the inner four planets.

Material to Help You Out

GENERAL

Practice working with scientific notation (powers of ten) here.
Computer Programs for use in ASTR100. Practice scientific notation and working with equations. Learn about astronomical distances and giant impacts!
More Computer Programs for use in ASTR100. Watch the planets move around the Sun on their actual orbits! Follow this link to the Inner Solar System and Outer Solar System animations.
Even More Computer Programs for use in ASTR100. Check out the orbits of all the known moons of the planets in our Solar System!
Supplementary Information for UMD Introductory Astronomy. This site includes useful practice multiple choice questions which the computer will grade for you!
Astronomy Picture of the Day This site is updated daily and has a nice archive of pretty astronomy images.

SOLAR SYSTEM

Welcome to the Planets Information about planets and spaceprobes from JPL.
A Tour of the Solar System This page contains information about the planets, satellites, asteroids, comets, and Solar System related topics.
Comet Information This page contains information about recently discovered comets.
Spacewatch This page contains information about this program which searches for near Earth objects.

STARS & OUR GALAXY

Light and the Electromagnetic Spectrum Good information about light.
Structure and Evolution of Stars What happens when a star runs out of fuel?
Novae and Supernovae The most violent events in the Universe!
Binary Stars This page contains general information on binary stars.
Pulsars What makes them tick?
Black Hole Candidates This page contains information on Cygnus X-1, LMC X-3, and other black hole candidates.
Black Hole Videos! This page has simulations of what starfields look like near black holes and neutron stars.
Cataclysmic Variables This page contains information on binaries with unusual properties.
SS443 A bizarre binary system expelling jets of material at nearly lightspeed!

OTHER GALAXIES

Hubble Space Telescope This page contains the latest pictures and scientific results from HST, the Hubble Space Telescope.
Relativity Everything that you want to know about General Relativity, curved spacetime, and gravitational radiation!
Cosmology How did the Universe begin? How will it end?
Large Scale Structure Clusters & Superclusters of Galaxies. What do they look like?