Prof. Julianne Dalcanton
Physics-Astronomy Building C305, in the Tower -- take 3 left turns off the elevator
206-685-2155 (although I am rarely at my desk)
jd@astro.washington.edu (which is the best way to reach me, nearly 24/7)

Monday 3-3:30, Wednesday 3-3:30

I've set up a message board that we can use for discussions/questions/answers outside of class. Feel free to use it to ask questions of me and of each other!

First Exam : Wednesday, April 26th
Second Exam: Wednesday, May 31st

Example Exam #1
Example Exam #2

Practice Exams for Second Test:

Example Exam #3
Example Exam #4

There will be no final!

All exams are short answer, closed notes, closed books. Bring a calculator!

Problem Set #1 (Due Monday April 10)
Problem Set #2 (Due Monday April 24)
Problem Set #3 (Due Monday May 8)

Problem sets & labs will be due roughly every two weeks.

All assignments are due in class, since I will usually be handing out answer keys immediately afterwards. If you need to turn in an assignment late, you must make arrangements with me in advance! Since problem sets are worth a very large fraction of your grade, you are much better off turning in incomplete work than none at all!

Problem Sets & Labs: 60%
Exams: 40%

Note the high weight given to problem sets & labs! If you don't turn them in, you will not do well!

I do not grade on a curve, meaning that if everyone in the class does extraordinarily well, everyone can earn a 4.0. However, if a particular exam turns out to be exceptionally hard, I will ease up a bit on the conversion from percentages to grades.

If you want special permission to turn in work late, or to take an exam at a different time, you must make arrangements with me in advance!

As a rule, I only grant exceptions in truly exceptional cases, and do not grant them when it would not be fair to offer them to only one person in the class. For example, if you need to turn in a problem set late because you're having chemotherapy, I will gladly help accomodate you. However, if you would like to do extra credit work because you're disappointed in your grade, then I will probably not grant you an exception, unless I decide to offer it to the class as a whole.

In general, keep me informed.

The official textbook is "An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics" by Carroll & Ostlie. This is the same textbook as you used for Astro 322. It is by no means the Best Textbook Ever, and it is in desperate need of a revision. On the other hand, it's one of the few games in town, and it probably beats spending yet another 50-100 bucks on a textbook you may never use again!

There is a more focussed textbook of which I'm quite fond. It's "Galaxies in the Universe" by Sparke & Gallagher. It's great for galaxies, though not for cosmology. I will place a copy of it on reserve in the 6th floor library in the Physics-Astronomy Tower. Here's the link to a copy on Amazon, if you find you want to drop another 30-60 dollars on a supplemental text, instead of something frivolous like rent or food.

I will put PDFs of any powerpoint slides from lecture on the web, linked to the appropriate date on the syllabus below. The links for a specific day will probably go live late the night before.

Astro 322, but not Astro 321. I will also assume that your physics is at a level where you can handle blackbody radiation, mechanics, and basic atomic processes. The class will also assume facility with calculus!

Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS): Optical images and spectra
2MASS: Near-Infrared images
NASA Extragalactic Database (NED): Find information on any galaxy, quasar, or cluster
Astronomical Data Center: Lots of catalogs of astronomical data
High-Energy Data: X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, & UV Data from Satellites
Spectra of Stars: Downloadable spectra of different stellar types
SIMBAD: Find information on any star, globular cluster, etc (i.e. like NED, but closer)

Astronomical Abstract Service (ADS)
Brand-spankin' New Astronomy Articles (astro-ph preprint server)

Space.com
Sky & Telescope

Hubble Heritage Image Gallery
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Best of the Hubble Space Telescope
Realtime updates for the Sun from the satellite SOHO

Find others you like? Let me know!