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Reading Assignments: The readings are listed either by Chapter or Section of the 5th edition of the text. For example, 15.5 means Section 5 of Chapter 15.     If you bought the 4th edition of the text, then the arrangement of the chapters and sections are almost identical; however, the content of the two editions is not quite the same. Course content and exam questions will be based on the lecture notes and the content of the 5th edition. Lecture notes: are posted within a week of each corresponding lecture. These lecture notes are not a word-for-word rendering of the lecture -- they are more of a visual reminder of the topics covered.     The upshot: take your own notes! People who attend class get a far more coherent view of the course than these lecture notes will provide.

TABLE LEGEND Lecture Topic (click for PDF notes)    (Notes will be posted within a week of the lecture) Associated Text Reading (5th Edition) Helpful Supplemental Links Tues/Thurs Section Activity Note 1: Prep Questions are due at the start of your section.     In order for your final exercise worksheet to qualify for full credit, associated Prep Questions must be completed, submitted, and approved by your TA at the start of the first in-class discussion of each exercise. Week Monday Wednesday Friday 1/7 - 1/11 Cosmic Space, Time, & You Read: Chap 1 (all) Fun with Powers of 10 Quick Math Review   and more The Visible Universe and the Visible Sky Read: Chap 2 (all) and skim S1 sec 2 (pp 101-111) Seasons, Lunar Phases & Eclipses Read: Chap 3 secs 2 thru 4 Sections Tu: Intro, Units & Basic Concepts Astronomical Units & Measures Th: Units & Basic Concepts, ctd. What's Due Next Week?  1/15: Exercise Worksheet           Sizes & Distances 1/14-1/18 Charting the Sky and Celestial Motions Read S1 sec 2 (pp 101-111) Motions & Gravity Read: Chap 4 secs 1 thru 4 Light & Matter Read: Chap 5 secs 1 thru 4 about light, more about light Sections Tu: Planetarium or Celestial Sphere (prep questions due; see note 1) Th: Celestial Sphere (prep questions due; see note 1) or Planetarium What's Due Next Week?  1/22: Exercise Worksheet           Understanding Celestial Sphere 1/21-1/25  HOLIDAY! Spectral Signs & Signals Read: Chap 5 secs 4 thru 5 Blackbody Emission Absorption & Emission Spectra spectra of elements Telescopes & Techniques Read: Chap 6 secs 1 - 3 Sections Tu (in class): Gravity Tutorial Th: Spectral Analysis (prep questions due; see note 1) What's Due Next Week?  1/29: Exercise Worksheet           Spectral Analysis 1/28-2/1 How the Sun Shines Read: Chap 14 sec 2 incl Math Insight 14.1 skip Math Insight 14.2 Stars on the Main Sequence Read: Chap 15 Stars, Clusters, & H-R Diagram Read: those parts of Chap 15 covered in lectures incl Math insight 15.1 types of main-sequence stellar spectra Sections Tu: Solar phenomenology Read: Chapt 14 sec 1 Th: Coronal Mass Ejection (prep questions due; see note 1) What's Due Next Week?  2/5: Exercise Worksheet         Coronal Mass Ejections 2/4 - 2/8 A Star is Born Read: Chap 16; skip math insights Stellar Adulthood Read: Chap 17 secs 1 & 2 Review for Midterm Exam Sections Tu: Discussion of Formation & Lifetimes of Stars: Tutorial H-R Diagram: Tutorial Th: Exam Practice Questions What's Due Next Week?  TBD 2/11 - 2/15 Midterm Exam The exam covers lecture and lab material from 1/7 - 2/6 Bring 1 page of notes, pencil, eraser Planetary Nebulae & White Dwarfs Read: Chap 17 secs 3 & 4 Supernovae & Black Holes Read: Chap 18 secs 1 & 2 Sections Tu: Discussion of Midterm, then Intro to Magnitudes and Color Indexes Th: Cluster Ages from CMDs prep questions due; see (note 1) Cluster Ages from CMDs Tutorial What's Due Next Week?  TBD 2/18 - 2/22  HOLIDAY! Black Holes: Bent out of Space Read: Chap 18 secs 3 & 4 Intro to Galaxies Read: Chap 20 sec 1 Sections Tu: Determining Cluster Ages from CMDs Th: Discussion of Black Holes What's Due Next Week?  2/21: Exercise Worksheet           Determining Cluster Ages 2/25-2/29 Milky Way: Between the Stars Read: Chap 19 secs 1,2, & 4 Cosmic Distances and Motions Read: Ch 20 sec 2, Ch 5 sec 5 Math insight 20.1, 20.2 Lookback at Evolution Read: Chap 20.3, 21.1, 21.3 Math insight 20.3, 20.4 Sections Tu: RR Lyraes & Galactic Distances (prep questions due; see note 1) Th: RR Lyraes & Galactic Distances (ctd) What's Due Next Week?  3/4: Exercise Worksheet         RR Lyrae Stars and the         Distance to Galactic Center 3/3 - 3/7 Cosmology Observations, I Read: Chap 22 See note 2 about readings below! Cosmology Observations, II Read: Chap 22 (ctd) See note 2 about readings below! The Shape of Space Read: Chap 23 See note 2 about readings below! Sections Tu: Discussion & Review Expansion of Balloon Universe Tutorial Th: Age of the Universe: Part 1 (no prep questions) What's Due Next Week?   3/11: Age of Universe graph   3/13: Age of Universe Worksheet 3/10 - 3/14 The Big Bang Read: Chap 23 (ctd) See note 2 about readings below! Life in the Universe Read: Chap 24 Review for the Final Exam Sections Age of the Universe: Part 2 (Hubble graph is due at start) Th: Age of Universe exercise is due Review for Final Exam What's Due This Week?   3/11: Age of Universe graph   3/13: Age of Universe Worksheet 3/17 Final 8:30-10:20 The exam covers lecture all course lecture and lab material Bring 2 pages of notes, pencil, eraser Note 2: Important notice about readings in Chapters 21 - 23! The lecture material will not follow the order and emphasis of material in these chapters. (So be sure to attend the lectures in the last few weeks of the class!)