• REEF polling app vs. iClicker use: It's fine for students to use both an iClicker remote and the REEF polling app, but please make sure that you don't use both within a single session. Note, you won't be able to see the scores you earned with your clicker in your REEF account unless your clicker is registered within your REEF account.

• Syllabus

• Course content

• Grading

• Video segments and explanations are linked here.

Week #, Dates	Notes	Topics (schedule is subject to change)
week 1 9/28		Format of the class; detailed logistics We Are Stardust: Overview of our cosmic connection [WEEK #1 Lecture Notes ppt]
week 2 10/1, 10/3, 10/5		Motion of Earth: spin, orbit around Sun, precession RA and DEC, appearance of Celestial Sphere, seasons Siderial versus solar day, parallax [WEEK #2 Lecture Notes ppt]
week 3 10/8, 10/10, 10/12		Moon phases, eclipses; Kepler's laws, planetary motion Light (waves, photons); Atoms, spectra [WEEK #3 Lecture Notes ppt]
week 4 10/15, 10/17, 10/19		Special and General Relativity [WEEK #4 Lecture Notes ppt]
week 5 10/22, 10/24, 10/26		Quasars, AGNs, black holes Hawking radiation [WEEK #5 Lecture Notes ppt]
week 6 10/29, 10/31, exam on 11/2	MIDTERM (Fri 11/2)	Cosmology: expansion, history and fate of the Universe [WEEK #6 Lecture Notes ppt]
week 7 11/5, 11/7, 11/9		Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation; Early Universe [WEEK #7 and #8 Lecture Notes ppt]
week 8 11/14, 11/16, no class on 11/12 (Veteran's Day holiday)		Milky Way galaxy; Galaxy morphological types Large-scale distribution of galaxies
week 9 11/19, review on 11/21		Birth, life cycle, and death of stars [WEEK #9 Lecture Notes part 1 and part 2]
week 10 11/26, 11/28, 11/30		Spill over material from previous weeks
week 11 12/3, 12/5 12/7		Interstellar medium Dark matter [WEEK #11 Lecture Notes ppt]
Final exam date/time/venue:		Wed 12/12, 4 - 7 pm (NOT the usual lecture time slot) Jack Baskin Auditorium 101 (usual classroom)

• Topics:

This is a one-term introductory course on astronomy and astrophysics.   We will cover the basic history, content, and fate of the universe.   Some of the topics we will touch on include: the origin & evolution of the Universe and the Big Bang model; galaxies & their constituents, including stars, planets & the interstellar medium (gas and dust); normal and active galaxies; the formation and evolution of galaxies; the life cycles & deaths of stars, including supernovae, white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes; nucleosynthesis (the origin of chemical elements); and dark matter.  Such studies require knowledge of  simple mechanics and basic laws of radiation, quantum mechanics, and nuclear & particle physics, which we shall develop as we go along.

The class syllabus  contains a detailed calendar listing weekly topics, reading chapters, online video modules, exam dates, and holidays. There may be some deviations from this syllabus depending on our rate of progress and any special topics that come up in current research.

• Textbook & Other Resources:

Explorations: An Introduction to Astronomy
Authors:  Arny & Schneider
McGraw Hill
ISBN: 978-1-30-874997-6 (custom UCSC edition)


Astronomy on the Web (this is just a start!):
Three "In a Nutshell" YouTube videos: Black Holes, Dark Energy, and The Big Bang
 365 Days of Astronomy Podcasts
 Recent discovery of a habitable exoplanet and video footage of the press conference announcing this discovery.
 Interactive Scale of the Universe
 A pictorial tour of the Solar System
 The Eight Planets
 Astronomy Picture of the Day
 The Best of Hubble Space Telescope Pictures
 Sloan Digital Sky Survey
 W. M. Keck Observatory -- home to the world's largest optical telescopes
 Our press release about the distribution of distant galaxies including a cool graphic (low resolution version and high resolution version)
 Our press release about a warp in the Andromeda spiral galaxy
 Carl Sagan's "Reflections on a Mote of Dust" and image of the Earth from the Voyager spacecraft

• Emphasis and Advice:

We will emphasize scientific methods and the process of discovery, not just facts about the Universe.  Students are expected to develop a qualitative grasp of key astrophysical concepts.  We will emphasize reasoning and understanding over memorizing.

The course material is self-contained. No previous college-level math, physics, or astronomy is required. Some of the best students in our previous introductory astronomy classes have been non-science majors who took a strong interest in the course material.

Questions and classroom discussion are encouraged, both for your benefit and to help me properly pace the course. Please browse astronomy web sites (we’ll provide some links on the class website) and share your findings, comments, questions, etc in class.

To get the most out of class (and a good grade), it is critical that you attend lectures.  We will be giving quizzes in lecture on a regular basis using the electronic response system (the "clickers" discussed below).  So it is critical that you attend (and bring your clicker to!) every lecture.  In order to get the most out of lectures, it is also a really good idea to read the chapter before hand so that you are familiar with the material.  If you are having difficulty following the class material, it is important for you to attend discussion sections (even though attending discussion sections is optional, those who make a real effort to attend regularly will receive a bit of extra credit). Students who do not attend lectures are at a huge disadvantage for exams, quizzes, and the overall grade.

30%  In-lecture Quizzes (using iclickers)
30%  Midterm Exam
40%  Final Exam

• iClickers:
  

We expect you to use your iClicker remote (hand-held electronic response pad) or the iClicker app installed on your personal device (smartphone or tablet) in every lecture to answer daily in-lecture quizzes. This is extremely important for keeping you engaged and learning! If you skip lectures or forget your iClicker, you will not be able to get points for the quizzes, which will be a significant part of your grade! Please come to the lectures and bring your iClicker remote or your personal device with the iClicker app installed! You can buy the iClicker remote at the bookstore along with your textbook. You can buy the iClicker app online.

Click here for instructions on how to register your iClicker remote or iClicker app in Canvas.

• Midterms and Final:

There will be one midterm exam and a final exam.   You must take both exams in order to pass the course.   The midterm will cover all material up to that point in the course.  The final will cover material from the whole term.