ISP205, Visions of the Universe, is about the universe. Besides the astronomical content, we consider how observation, theory, philosophy, and technology contribute to the development of the science.

Classes	MWF 11:30-12:20, 1410 BMPS Bldg.
Instructor	Ed Loh, 1219 BMPS, 355-9200 x2480, Loh@msu.edu
Office hours	MTuF 12:30-15:00, 1219 BMPS, or by arrangement.
Teaching Assistant	Jon Cook
Textbook	Essential Cosmic Perspective, 3^rd ed., Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit, Pearson/Addison Wesley.
Web page	http://www.pa.msu.edu/courses/ISP205/sec-1/

	Calendar				Topic & Reading (§3 means chapter 3)
Laws of physics—the Copernican Revolution and the development of the laws of motion. Why does the sky change over the course of a day, a month, a year?
	10			Jan	Overview. §1, §2.1–2.3
		12	14		Birth of astronomy & birth of science. Ptolemy & Copernicus. §2.4, §3
		19	21		Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion. Newton’s Laws of motion §3, §4
	24	26	28		Radiation and spectra. §5
	31				Telescopes. §5
		2		Feb	First test
Planets—Spaceship Earth. How did the solar system form?
			4		Overview. §6.1–6.2
	7	9	11		Earth. Mercury, Venus, & Mars §7
	14	16	18		Jovian Planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune). §8
	21	23	25		Origin of the solar system. §9, §6.3–6.4
	28				Second test.
Stars—the Sun. What powers the sun? What is the future sun? Where does oxygen come from?
		2	4	Mar	The sun. §10
	14	16	18		Other stars. §11. Life history of low-mass & high-mass stars. §12
	21	23	25		White dwarfs, neutron stars, & black holes. §13
	28				Third test. Study guide
Universe—How old? How big? What is its story? What is the universe made of?
		30	1	Apr	Our galaxy. §14. Other galaxies. §15.1–15.3.
	4				Quasars & active galaxies. §15.4, 14.4.
		6	8		Hubble’s Law, expansion of the universe. §15.2
	11	13	15		Radiation from the Big Bang. The young universe. §17 Helium production in the Big Bang—fossil from the 3-min old universe. pp. 440–442.
	18	20			Weighing the universe.
			22		Weighing the universe with distant supernovae. Discovery of matter with a repulsive force. pp. 423–424.
	25	27			Weighing the universe with WMAP satellite: Measuring a fossil imprinted on the cosmic radiation. When did the first stars & galaxies form?
			29		Missouri (“Show me”) Club
					Final exam, Thurs., the 5^th, 8:00-10:00 pm. Study guide. Sample questions.

Doing science is a social and cooperative venture. Find a 205 pal with whom you can work on ISP 205. If you get stuck, your 205 pal may help. If you think you understand a concept, explain it to your 205 pal to see if he/she thinks your explanation is sensible and clear. Difficult concepts become clear with discussion.

The course grade will be based on in-class exercises and homework (20%), three tests (15% each), and a final exam (35%). Your lowest 10% of the in-class exercises will be dropped.

In-class exercises, which are done with clickers, serve three purposes: 1) to help you think about the class actively, 2) to check whether you have gotten the main ideas in the assigned reading, 3) during the class, to adjust the class to the students understanding. A class should ideally be a conversation between each student and the instructor; the clickers enable every student to “speak” to the instructor. Generally, the grading scale is 3 points for a correct answer and 2 points for trying. You must purchase a clicker to do the in-class exercises. (With the purchase of a textbook, the additional cost of a clicker is $5.)

The Physics-Astronomy Department and Abrams Planetarium also offer public observing at the MSU Observatory (at College Rd. & Farm Lane) from 9:00–11:00 on April 15 & 16 and possibly on other dates in March. See www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/Programs/PublicObserving.html (It has not yet been updated for 2005.)