syllabus & course expectations
Astronomy
Picture of the Day
the
latest astrophysics discoveries
what's up in the sky
this week
Skywatcher's
Diary for this month
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March 26 |
March 27 |
March 28 |
March 29 |
march 30 |
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(always done before class) |
on how we get distances to the nearest stars |
much of this should be familiar because it's about flux and luminosity but there are 2 new rules to learn about magnitudes |
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things you should know the answer to before coming to class |
how did the authors come up with the formula at the top of the 2nd column on page 410? you should be able to use the associated diagram on the following to prove it using either geometry or trigonometry, your choice why is there a maximum distance for which a parallax can be measured? what is it? on which planet would astronomers have preferred to live to measure parallaxes easily? |
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| Monday, March 19 |
March 20 |
March 21 |
March 22 |
March 23 |
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(always done before class) |
7 (1-4) on the main contents of the solar system on the greenhouse effect |
8(1
- 5) on the basics of how the planets formed |
some
suggested sections for reading about other energy sources: 7(6), box 8-1, pp. 188-189, 17(5-6) |
did
you read all of yesterday's stuff? |
lab 3: we
measure the radius, the temperature, and the luminosity of the sun review flux and luminosity |
things you should know the answer to before coming to class |
know the two types of planets in our solar system and bring at least five examples of main differences between them to class |
know the basics of our best understanding of how the solar system's planets formed |
what are some other sources of planetary heating besides 1) the sun 2) the greenhouse effect (the atmosphere) only MAJOR sources ONLY please |
what data you should collect in lab before you leave the roof? |
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homework (written assignments to be turned in) |
calculate the power emitted by you (assuming you are a blackbody) do not agonize over exact measurements for surface area (2 sig figs are perfectlyl fine) |
for your star, a) identify your star's name & the spectral/luminosity class listed in the Appendix b) determine your star's temperature (in K) c) determine the wavelength of max intensity for your star AND what color your star would appear to humans d) determine your star's luminosity relative to the sun.... show work! (your luminosity ratio should also match that given in Figure 19-14a) e) the radius of your star (relative to sun) [see box 19-4 and follow the procedure exactly] (your answer should also match that given in Figure 19-14b) f) the flux of your star at earth (you will need your star's distance from the table in the appendix and your star's luminosity, calculated above) g) if we define the sun as fist-sized, what real life object (either bring one or have a classroom object identified) that approximately matches your star's size h) determine what fraction of your star's luminosity is emitted in the uv, in the visible, and in the ir (using the spectrum explorer applet) |
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tally
of star properties |
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spectra
lab |
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of the week |
| Monday, March 12 |
March 13 |
March 14 |
March 15 |
March 16 |
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we start the spectra lab |
JIT
due by 8 am today we continue with the spectra lab |
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(always done before class) |
5(3,4) know Wien's law and the Stefan-Boltzmann law |
Walker
28(1,2,6) look at how the real formula is different than the on we came up with in class look at some of the examples, qualitative and quantitative |
5(6) |
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you should know the answer to before coming to class |
know what type of light source (i.e., what physical state) produces what kind of spectrum | ||||
homework (written assignments to be turned in) |
bring calculator with blackbody curve to class; temperature your choice |
10 properties of stars due (you cant use distance, diameter, or luminosity) last chance to show me your calculator is today at the beginning of class |
bring TO CLASS on a separate sheet of paper to hjand in: the calculation of the temperature (looked up in the text; there may be two actual temperatures for some planets) of your planet the actual temperature of your planet... in most cases your calculation should match (pretty closely) the actual temperature Stephanie is doing the largest of the dwarf planets, Eris and Will is doing the 3rd largest of the dwarf planets, 2003 EL61 (info on present distance and surface composition -- which determines albedo -- of both of these dwarf planets is here -- table near bottom of page) |
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spectrum
explorer (launch the explorer; it requires java, so that must be enabled; 2 new windows should open in a minute or 2-- a useless one and one containing axes; on the latter, click on the "blackbody" button to add a blackbody, type in the temperature below the thermometer, and you'll find the %s in another new, tiny window) |
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image
processing lab due |
spectra
lab begins (do you have another lab book?) |
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of the week |
Hubble
sees Comet Galaxy being ripped
apart by galaxy cluster first spectrum of an exoplanet reveals atmospheric molecules |
| Monday, March 5 |
March 6 |
March 7 |
March 8 |
August 25 |
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astronomical light detectors and image processing |
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(always done before class) |
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all of the lab guide Sky on a Chip: the Fabulous CCD (SALMON handout) |
5(1-2): what is light?
you should know some properties of light (e.g. wavelength or frequency) and some behaviors of light (e.g., reflection, refraction) see the Walker references on the syllabus (but it doesn't have to be Walker) perhaps you will learn some laws
that go with the behaviors as you read?
maybe two sides of a page of notes while you're reading? |
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| questions
you should know the answer to before coming to class |
what
are the three pieces of info astronomers can record about an incoming
photon? (block D only got "color" or "wavelength" or "energy" there are two more obvious, simpler answers) |
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homework (written assignments to be turned in) |
number the odd pages of your lab book |
list
of 10 properties of stars that
can be obtained from the light we receive (you can't use the example that came up in class) |
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where/how to
download ds9 (the software necessary for tomorrow's lab) |
stellar evolution summary |
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image
processing lab (ds9 version) image processing lab (HOU version) |
continues |
continues? |
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of the week |
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