Ast207, the Science of Astronomy, is based on the premise that learning a science is done better by an in-depth study of a few topics rather than a brief brush with many.

Classes	MWF 3:00-3:50, 1345 Engineering Bldg.
Instructor	Mr. Ed Loh, 1219 BMPS, 884-5614, Loh@msu.edu
Office hours	MWF 12:00-1:00, 1219 BMPS.
Grader	Nicholas Earl, earlnich@msu.edu (Please ignore the error message.)
Textbook	Cosmic Perspective, 5^th ed., Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit, 2008.
Web	www.pa.msu.edu/courses/AST207

	Calendar				Topic & Reading
	25			Aug	Overview. Learning science. Example with 51 Pegasi.
1543—The Copernican Revolution
		27			Erathosthenes' measurement of the diameter of the earth. p. 68
			29		Daily and annual motions of the sky. §2, §S-1 (p.92)
		3		Sep	Measuring the relative size of the orbit of Venus and Mars.
			5	H1	Tycho Brahe maps the sky. Kepler studies Mars' motion. §3
	8	10			Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion. Newton’s laws of motion & gravity §3
1838—Size of the Solar System & Distances to the Nearest Stars
			12	H2	Galileo invents the telescope. (Sidereus Nuncius, pp. 64–86. Select “Preview this book”)
	15	17			How big is the solar system? Parallax of Mars and Venus. pp. 225, 521–523.
			19	H3Ans	Preparation for test. Practice test with answers
	22				Test.
		24		H4	How far are the nearest stars? Bessell, Henderson, & Struve.
			26		Model of the universe of 1850. Hertzsprung Russell Diagram. §15.2
	29				Simple model of stars. §15
		1		OctH5	Adam’s discovery of a white dwarf.
			3		Lifetime of stars §16, §17
	6	8			Nuclear fusion powers the stars. §14.2
			10		Death of stars. §17, §18
	13				Midterm exam. Practice test with answers
1929—Expansion of the Universe
		15		H6	Measuring velocities: Doppler effect. §5.5. Mizar
			17		Hubble's paper of 1929: discovery of the expansion of the universe. §20.3
	20				Models of the Big Bang. The universe has beginning and possibly an end.
1965—Radiation from the Big Bang
		22		H7	Discovery of the cosmic background radiation. §23.2
			24		The hot Big Bang. §23
	27	29		H8	The universe at 3 minutes: the formation of helium. pp. 709–711.
Unsolved problem: What is the universe made of?
			31		Weighing the earth by timing fall of a ball. Weighing galaxies.
	3	5		Nov	Dark matter in galaxies. §22
			7	H9	Black holes and quasars. §18.3, §21.3
	10				Recombination of hydrogen; matter and radiation become independent.
		12	14	H10	First stars, quasars, & galaxies. Galaxy clustering.
	17	19	21		Weighing the universe by timing the expansion of the universe. Timing with supernovae. Discovery of matter with a repulsive force. §22.4
	24				Third test. Practice test with answers
		26			The SOAR telescope.
	1			Dec	Discovery of matter with a repulsive force.
		3			Einstein’s theory of gravity. §S3, pp. 448-460
			5		Review.
					Final exam, Wed., Dec. 10^th, 3:00-5:00, BPS1410. Practice test. Answers

This term, Ast207 will focus on cosmology, the study of the structure and content of the universe on the largest scales. We will examine and interpret the evidence for the key discoveries in cosmology. Four epochal discoveries will be our focus for the first part: the Copernican revolution, the measurement of the distances to the nearest stars, Hubble's discovery of the expansion of the universe, and the discovery of the radiation from the Big Bang. For the remainder of the course we will examine topics of current interest in cosmology.

Doing science is a social and cooperative venture. Find a 207 pal with whom you can work on Ast207. If you get stuck, your 207 pal may help. If you think you understand a concept, explain it to your 207 pal to see if he/she thinks your explanation is sensible and clear. Difficult concepts become clear with discussion.

You may work together on your homework assignments, but you must hand in your own solutions. Late homework may be handed in up until the time the graded papers are returned.

The course grade will be based on in-class exercises (9%), homework (25%), first test (5%), midterm (15%), third test (15%) and final exam (31%). Your lowest homework score and your three lowest exercise scores will be dropped.

Some of the in-class exercises use i-clickers. We will start using i-clickers during the second week. You must e-mail the registration number of your i-clicker to loh@msu.edu.

We will have an evening observing session on Monday and Tuesday, 6 & 7 October. It will be rescheduled if the weather is bad on those dates. 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 Oct. 10 & 11, and Nov. 7 & 8. (See http://www.pa.msu.edu/astro/observ/public.html)

For other skywatcher’s information, see the web site for Abrams’ Planetarium www.pa.msu.edu/abrams .