| FACULTY |
|
|---|---|
| Brett Bochner
Associate Professor Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology Primary Research Field: Gravitational Physics & Cosmology (516) 463-9920 [phone] (516) 463-3059 [fax] bochner@prodigy.net [email] |
|
Class Times and Places:
First Year Connections Program (FYC) ASTR 11, Section F13/FA:
Lecture: Tuesdays, 2:20-4:10pm, in (Chem/Phys Building) Room 117
Recitation: Thursdays, 2:20-4:10pm, in CHPHB Room 206
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ASTR 11, Section E/EL:
Lecture: Tuesdays, 6:10-8pm, in CHPHB Room 206
Recitation: Thursdays, 6:10-8pm, in CHPHB Room 206
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ASTR 11, Section D/DL:
Lecture: Tuesdays, 8:10-10pm, in CHPHB Room 207
Recitation: Thursdays, 8:10-10pm, in CHPHB Room 206
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Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays: 4:10-6:10pm & 10pm-12am;
Wednesdays: 1:30-2:30pm; or by appointment.
Office Location: CHPHB 102D, in the Physics Department Main Suite.
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Required Astronomy Textbook:
"Astronomy Today", by Eric Chaisson & Steve McMillan, 6th (2008) Edition, Addison-Wesley
| Day & Date | Topic | Recommended Reading, Chaisson & McMillan (6th Ed.) |
|
| Tu, 9/2 | Introduction and motivation for studying Astronomy: How Astronomy affects us all. Course organizational details |
Part 1 Intro & Sec.1.1; Skim Appendices 1 & 2 |
|
| Th, 9/4 | The "Geography" of Space: Universe Sizes & Scales.
The Celestial Sphere. The Zodiac, Constellations, & the Seasons. |
Sec's. 1.3, 1.4 & 1.5 | |
| Tu, 9/9 | Our Moon, and the Earth-Moon System: Lunar Phases,
Eclipses, and Tidal Locking. |
Sec. 1.6; Sec's. 8.4, 8.5 & 8.8; Skim rest of Ch. 8 |
|
| Th, 9/11 | Possible Observation Session (Evening, after Sunset) | (Weather Permitting; To Be Confirmed.) | |
| Tu, 9/16 |
Ancient Astronomy: The Solar System Distance Ladder. From Geocentrism to Heliocentrism: Aristotle through Galileo. | Sec's. 1.7, 1.2 & 2.1-2.4 | |
| Th, 9/18 | Heliocentrism, cont'd.: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens. | Sec's. 2.5 & 2.6 | |
| Tu, 9/23 | Kepler's & Newton's Laws of Motion; Newton's Gravity & Planetary Orbits; Doppler Shifts and Detecting Extrasolar Planets. | Rest of Ch. 2; Sec's. 3.5, 15.6 & 15.7 | |
| Th, 9/25 |
Possible Observation Session (Evening, after Sunset) | (Weather Permitting; To Be Confirmed.) | |
| Tu, 9/30 | No Meeting Today -- Rosh Hashanah | ||
| Th, 10/2 | Formation of the Solar System. | Ch. 6; Sec's. 15.2-15.3; And skim, according to your interest: Ch's. 18 & 19. | |
| Tu, 10/7 | Overview of the Solar System: Composition, & Layout. Terrestrial Planets vs. Jovian Planets. | Review Ch's. 6 & 15 | |
| Th, 10/9 | No Meeting Today -- Yom Kippur | ||
| Tu, 10/14 | Possible Observation Session (Evening, after Sunset) | (Weather Permitting; To Be Confirmed.) | |
| Th, 10/16 | Planetary Atmospheres and the Greenhouse Effect: Life and Death for the Inner Planets. |
Sec's. 7.2, 9.5 & 10.6 | |
| Tu, 10/21 | Summary: Earth, and the Terrestrial Worlds. | Skim rest of Ch's. 7, 9 & 10 | |
| Th, 10/23 | REVIEW FOR MIDTERM EXAM | No additional reading. (Come prepared with questions!) |
|
| Tu, 10/28 | MIDTERM! (1 Hour Exam) | Based on Material Through 10/16 Class. |
|
| Th, 10/30 | Jupiter: The Planet, its Moons, and its Faint Ring. | Ch. 11 | |
| Tu, 11/4 | Saturn: Ringed Wonder of the Solar System. | Ch. 12 | |
| Th, 11/6 | Possible Observation Session (Evening, after Sunset) | (Weather Permitting; To Be Confirmed.) | |
| Tu, 11/11 | Uranus: An Oddly Tilted World; Neptune: God of the Cosmic Deeps. |
Ch. 13 | |
| Th, 11/13 | Pluto, "Plutoids", "Dwarf Planets", and the Great Beyond: One "Planet X", or Millions of Them? | Sec. 14.3 | |
| Tu, 11/18 | The "Debris" of the Solar System: Moons, Meteors, Asteroids, & Comets |
Sec's. 14.1, 14.2 & 14.4 | |
| Th, 11/20 | Special Hofstra Lecture: "Apollo Moon Landings: Triumph or Hoax?" Monroe Lecture Hall, South Campus, 7:30-9pm |
||
| Tu, 11/25 (Conversion Day -- Thursday Schedule) | The Sun and its Surface: A Maelstrom of Turbulence under a Sunny Face. Thermal Radiation: Why are Stars Different Colors? | Sec's. 16.1-16.5; Skim Sec. 3.1, 3.3 & 3.4 |
|
| Th, 11/27 | No Meeting Today -- Thanksgiving Holiday | ||
| Tu, 12/2 | The Power Source of the Sun -- How Stars Shine: Nuclear Fusion, E=MC^2, and Neutrinos. Why do Stars Die? | Rest of Ch. 16 Skim Sec. 20.1-20.3 |
|
| Th, 12/4 |
Life in the Universe: Are We Alone? Are We Lucky to be Here? Extrasolar Planets, Drake's Eq., UFO's, and SETI. | Ch. 28 | |
| Day/Time To Be Determined | REVIEW FOR FINAL EXAM (Covers all class material.) |
No additional reading. (Come prepared with questions!) |
|
NASA's Planetary Photojournal Site
NASA's Photo Gallery
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day
The Hubble Space Telescope Institute's "News & Views" Site
The "Hubble Heritage" Site
The "Extrasolar Planets" Catalog & Encyclopaedia
The "Transit Search Project" for finding
Extrasolar Planets
The Google Earth Science Galleries
The CNN.com Technology/Science News Site
The American Astronomical Society Homepage
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Homepage
Chris Dolan provides a good site for stars, constellations, Messier images, etc.
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), and their catalog of Messier Objects
"From Stargazers to Starships", a series of
interesting lessons on Classical Astronomy and basic Space Physics and Math
MSN's Celebrate Science & Technology
"The Nucleus": Resources for Physics and Astronomy
Undergraduates
Up-to-date Sunspot Pictures and Astro Info at SpaceWeather.com
Observe images & animations of the Sun at "SOHO: Exploring the Sun"
NASA's "Virtual Telescope"
The Night Sky from Mauna Kea and Kitt Peak
USNO's Astronomical Data Services Site (Sunrise & Moonrise times, Lunar Phases, etc.)
Current & Long-Term Local Weather Forecasts
List of sites from Prof. Harold Hastings' referring page.