The major theme of this course is how we go from what we see
to what we understand, i.e. how we construct pictures and models of
how things work. This is what scientists do, and for one semester, you
will all be scientists.
Here is fairly detailed list of what I might cover. It is much too much for a one semester course, so we will pick and choose.
Part I: Introduction to astronomy
Sky watching — stars and constellations
Constellations; Measuring angles; Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
More sky watching — the solar system
The Sun and the seasons; The Moon and its phases; Mercury and Venus; Mars; Jupiter and Saturn; Comets; The solar wind and the aurora; Shooting stars; Lunar eclipses; Solar eclipses
Explaining the solar system I: the observations.
What shape is the Earth? How big is the Earth? Does the Earth spin? Does the Earth revolve around the Sun? Copernicus; The great observers: Tycho Brahe and Galileo Galilei.
Explaining the Solar System, II: discovering the rules.
Kepler's laws; Isaac Newton and the laws of motion; Using the laws of motion;
Newton's Law of Gravity; Understanding the law of gravity: Dropping things, Orbits, Escape velocity. Using the law of gravity: Weighing the Earth, Weighing things with Orbits
Light and the electromagnetic spectrum
Electromagnetic waves and the electromagnetic spectrum; Particles of light; Absorption by our atmosphere; Light scattering and the colors of the sky; The colors of stars and other hot objects; The brightness of hot things; The spectral fingerprints of atoms; The spectral fingerprints of molecules; the Doppler effect; Using the Doppler effect
Telescopes and Images
The faintness problem; The smallness problem;
Telescopes at different wavelengths: Radio telescopes, Optical telescopes, X-ray telescopes, High energy x-rays and gamma ray telescopes.
Measuring Spectra; Displaying images; Imaging extrasolar planets
Part II: Exploring the solar system
The Structure and Contents of the Solar System
The solar system from afar; The outer solar system; The inner solar system: planets and the Kuiper belt; Asteroids, short period comets and the Sun; Rotation of the solar system; Chemical composition of the solar system; The temperature of the planets; Planetary atmospheres; Age of the solar system; The structure of matter; Radioactive clocks, and dating the solar system; Formation of the solar system
Exploring the Earth, I
The density of the Earth; Seismic waves; Balancing forces inside the Earth; Why is the Earth hot inside? Consequences of a hot Earth: differentiation, tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes; The surface of the Earth: rocks, and sculpting by wind and water; The surface of the Earth: impacts of meteorites and comets
Exploring the Earth II, and the Earth-Moon system
The structure of the Earth's atmosphere; The greenhouse effect; Magnetic fields; The Moon and tides; Surface of the Moon; Interior and origin of the Moon; A short history of the Earth and Moon
The other rocky planets
Mercury; Venus; Venus' atmosphere; Mars; Water on Mars, and Mars' atmosphere; The search for life on Mars: Viking landers and Martian meteorites
The giant planets, and their moons and rings
Internal structure and formation of the giant planets; Atmospheres of the giants; The Jupiter system; The Saturn system; The ice worlds of Uranus and Neptune
The smaller objects in the solar system
The distribution of smaller objects in the solar system; More about orbits: perturbations, capture and escape; Meteorites and meteor showers; Asteroids; Pluto, Charon, Triton and the Kuiper belt; Comets; Near Earth Objects, collisions and catastrophes;
The Sun:
Properties of the Sun; Structure; Energy generation and nuclear reactions; Solar neutrinos; The quiet surface of the Sun; Solar storms, sunspots, flares and other violence; The Sun's future.
Part III: Exploring the Milky Way
Measuring Distances, I:
Nearby objects look bigger; Nearby objects look brighter; Nearby objects shift in position;
Other clues
A Tour of the Milky Way
Local geography; The larger picture; The stellar menagerie; The center of the Milky Way
Stars: birth and mid-life
Where stars are born; Star birth; the youngest stars; middle-aged stars; giants; binaries
Star death
Red giants and white dwarfs; Cooking up the elements and supernovas; Neutron stars and
black holes
Part IV: Exploring the Universe
Touring the universe: our neighborhood
Local geography; The zoo of galaxies; Measuring distances II
Interlude: A practical person's guide to relativity
Touring the universe: deep space
The expanding universe; The cosmic microwave background; Large scale structure; Quasars: the most brilliant galaxies
History and future of the cosmos
Will the universe expand forever? Weighing galaxies; Weighing the universe; Dark matter and dark energy
First light
The first second of creation; The next second; The next three minutes: helium formation; The next million years: the first stars
Epilogue
Explorations in the near future; Are we alone? Last light: the ultimate fate of the universe