Astron 300: Astronomy I

Fall 2010, David Kaplan

Lectures: MWF 10:00am-10:50am, Physics 232 Attendance and participation at lectures is required.

Lecturer: Prof. David Kaplan

Office: Physics 480
Office hours: Monday 11am or by appointment
Email: kaplan@uwm.edu
Phone: 414-229-4971

Course Description: This is a general course intended to introduce quantitative astronomy and astrophysics to students with a physical-sciences background. A background in calculus-based physics is required. This semester introduces basic concepts in astronomy and astrophysics including:

Astronomical coordinates
Celestial mechanics
The nature of light and its interaction with matter
The structure and evolution of single stars
The evolution of binary stars
The end-products of stellar evolution
The following semester (Astron 320) will extend this discussion beyond the Milky Way.

Course Website: http://www.lsc-group.uwm.edu/~kaplan/astron300_fall2010.html
Lecture notes, reading assignments, and problem sets will be posted there.

Course Textbook:
An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, 2nd edition, by B. W. Carroll & D. A. Ostlie (Addison-Wesley, 2006)

Evaluation:

Problem sets (weekly): 50%; grade will be best 10 of 11 problem sets
Midterm exam: 20%
Final exam: 30%
You are encouraged to discuss the problem sets with each other but are not allowed to copy each other.
The mid-term will be an in-class, open-book exam of 1 hour duration.
The final exam (Thur, 12/16, 10am-noon) will be a closed-book exam of 2 hours duration (only calculator allowed).

Prerequisites: basic physics & calculus (Physics 210) or by discussion.

News:

Wed, Sep 8 will be a planetarium lecture. Meet outside (across from Physics 137) at or slightly before 10am. If you are late, you will be locked out!

Handouts:

Syllabus (Sep 3, 2010)
Problem Set 1 (Sep 8 2010, due Sep 15 2010)

Palomar star-trail image (click for a larger image)

Protractor images: many are available, this is just an example

Problem Set 2 (Sep 15 2010, due Sep 22 2010)
Problem Set 3 (Sep 22 2010, due Sep 29 2010)
Problem Set 4 (Sep 29 2010, due Oct 6 2010)
Problem Set 5 (Oct 6 2010, due Oct 13 2010)
Problem Set 6 (Oct 15 2010, due Oct 20 2010)
Problem Set 7 (Oct 20 2010, due Oct 27 2010)
Star formation notes
Problem Set 8 (Nov 10 2010, due Nov 17 2010)
Solar System Overview notes (courtesy M. van Kerkwijk)
Problem Set 9 (Nov 17 2010, due Nov 24 2010)
Problem Set 10 (Nov 29 2010, due Dec 8 2010)
Special Lecture on LIGO (2010-12-08, R. O'Shaughnessy)
Special Lecture on IceCube (2010-12-10, B. Hughey)
Special Lecture on Colliding BH/NS Systems (2010-12-10, B. Stephens)