Final Exam Schedule for Astronomy 1010:

Exams will be primarily multiple-choice questions with a few true/false questionsn. Remember to bring a pencil and a ParSCORE (red) SCANTRON. This SCANTRON has room for 50-answers on the front and 50-answers on the back.

Pop-quizes will consist of 10 True/False questions based on the previous lecture and will also use the ParSCORE (red) SCANTRONS.

You should purchase about 10 ParSCORE scantrons and bring them with you to class.

Lecture-1: This lecture serves as an introduction to the class. I will provide an overview of the topics covered in this class, go over the grading system (e.g., exams, pop-quizes, final, and extra-credit essays), and show the student where to find copies of the syllabus. At the end I briefly discuss what Science is (and isn't).

This lecture covers material from Prologue section in your text (pages 1-16).

notes for Lecture 1 (Introduction)>Lecture-1 Notes

We will see that there are major differences between the Northern and Southern hemispheres: one is heavily cratered (south) while the other is much smoother and uniformly smoother in elevation. Recent computer models by M. Marinova at Caltech show how such differences could have come about by a glancing collision with another object - perhaps slightly larger than our Moon - several billion years ago. The movie from her work shows this possibility. It also serves to illustrate how important computer models have become in modern astronomy. If you are good with computers and in writing "code" you might consider a career in numerical astronomy or physics. >Ancient Martian collision

Lecture-2: In this lecture we will cover some basic concepts that will be used throughout this class: the building blocks of matter (neutrons, protons,electrons, & quarks), what gives a gold atom its characteristic properties, or a carbon atom. We'll also look at temperature and give it a solid definition, and take a first look at light. There are no readings from the book for this lecture.

notes for Lecture 2 (Some Basic Concepts)>Lecture-2 Notes

Lecture-3: This lecture serves up an introduction to the Solar System, starting with what one can see with the unaided eye. We'll discuss constellations very briefly, since they provide a backdrop to introduce the "wandering" planets. We will have an overview of the Solar System and note some regularities that we will have to explain later, and see that there are two famalies of planets. Since astronomy is a branch of applied physics, we will next see how we can derive very basic properties of planets (or anything else, for that matter) using observables: distance, diameter, and mass.

This lecture covers the following sections in your text: 1.1, 2.1, 2.3-2.4, 3.1

notes for Lecture 3 (Intro. to the Solar System)>Lecture-3 Notes

Lecture-4: We beging our detailed examination of the Solar System with the Earth, our home planet. We'll start with the Earth's interior structure, and how we know what we do. Then we consider the atmostphere, among other things, learning how some simple molecules that make up a tiny part of the atmosphere help to make life possible on the Earth's surface, or at least a lot more comfortable.

This lecture covers Chapt. 7.1 - 7.3

notes for Lecture 4 (Earth)>Lecture-4 Notes

Here is a computer simulation showing how geologists think Earth's continents have moved over the past 300-million years (i.e., continental drift). Notice that 300-million years ago all the continents were joined into a "Super Continent" called Pangea>Continental Drift

Here's an interesting video showing underwater thermal vents where crustal plates move apart>Underwater Smokers

Lecture-5: The Earth (continued). In this lecture we will continue our exploration of planet Earth. In particular, we will look at the Greenhouse Effect, and the causes for Earths's (or any planet's for that matter) Seasons, Tides, and Eclipses.

This lecture covers material covered in Chapt. 3.1-3.2, 3.5-3.7, & 8.4

notes for Lecture 5 (Earth-II)>Lecture-5 Notes

Here's a YouToob video that does a decent job of explaining the Earth's Seasons. Put on your winter coat!>Seasons

Here is an animation that tries to show a solar eclipse from the point of view of someone floating in space looking down towards the Earth. Note that there are in fact *two* shaddows cast by the moon - a large shaddow, and at the very center, a small darker shaddow. Where would you have to be to see a *total* eclipse? A *partial* eclipse?>Solar-Eclipse

An animation of a total solar eclipse. Notice how long it takes for the moon to pass completely from one side of the Sun to another. When the Sun's disk is completely covered by the moonn, note that the Sun's "corona" becomes suddenly visible.>Solar-Eclipse2

By the way, we only see the same half of the Moon's surface on Earth. This is because of the Earth's gravitational field having synchronized its rotation and orbital motions. Here's a nice video, again from YooToobe showing you all of the moon. Notice any differences between the side we see and the side we never see?>Entire Moon

Lecture-6: Electro-magnetic Radiation. In this lecture we will cover the basics of E-M radiation, with particular emphasis on how it can preserve information on whatever emitted or reflected it (e.g., planets).

This lecture covers material covered in Chapter 4.1-4.3, 4.5-4.6

notes for Lecture 6 (E-M Radiation)>Lecture-6 Notes

Lecture-7: Telescopes. In this lecture we learn about optical telescopes, and discuss the two primary functions of all telescope - optical or non-optical. We will compare the two main optical designs and find out why only one of them is used by professionals. We will also see that the Earth's atmosphere has a profound effect on the ability of a telescope to carry out its functions and what we can do about it. We will also consider the sorts of things you strap on the end of your telescope (i.e., detectors: your eye, photographic plates, and CCDs).

This lecture covers material in Chapter 8.

notes for Lecture 7 (Telescopes)>Lecture-7 Notes

Twinkle-twinkle little star. That's the problem. Visible light from objects in space (like this star) is greatly affected by the turbulent atmosphere it passes through during the last ~5 km of its journey. This file shows the resulting distortions of the star's image dramtically in a rapid series of short exposures. This is a 2.5-m telescope so the star should have an apparent diameter of 1/20'th of an arcsec. Notice that the blurred star image is 1-2 arcseconds in diameter and moves all over the place.>Star Twinkle

Another example of how looking at distant objects (here the surface of the Moon) is affected by the Earth's turbulent atmosphere. The image is from a video camera attached to the focus of a 1.5-m telescope.>Shake_Moon

Here's one way to solve the problem: Adaptive optics. By using a flexible mirror that can be rapidly re-shaped by a computer you can start to take out the "wavefront curvature" imposed by the turbulent atmosphere. This demonstration is from our friends at the Max Planck Institute. The images are: (bottom-left)-The uncorrected blurred star. (top-left)-The curved wavefronts of the star's light-waves after they have passed through the atmosphere. If not for the atmosphere these would be flat surfaces. (middle)-This represents the shape of the flexible mirror (note how rapidly it has to move!) required to remove the curved wavefronts. (top-right)-This shows the shape of the wavefronts after correction by the flexible mirror (they're much flatter..yay!). (bottom-right)-The resulting image of the star is much smaller and actually reaches the theoretical angular resolution of this 2.5-m telescope. >Working Adaptive Optics System

Lecture-8: Non-Optical Telescopes & Mercury. In this lecture we look at telescopes that operate outside the visible part of the spectrum, in particular, Infrared, Radio, and X-ray. We will also look at a telescope that doesn't detect EM-radiation. After this we will jump off planet Earth to Mercury.

notes for Lecture 8 (Non-optical telescopes & Mercury)>Lecture-8 Notes

Lecture-9: Venus. In this lecture we will explore the Earth's "sister" planet. We will examine its basic properties and try to understand what forces led to Venus transforming into Earth's "Evil-twin".

notes for Lecture 9 (Venus)>Lecture-9 Notes

Lecture-10: Mars. In this first of two lectures on the Red Planet, we will examine Mars' orbit and main surface features (e.g., volcanoes, impact craters, the North-South "dichotomy") as well as its atmosphere. Mars was tagged early on by astronomers as possibly being Earth-like. We'll see that it currently isn't very Earth-like. But we will see in the next lecture that long ago Mars would have earned the moniker of "Earth's Twin".

notes for Lecture 10 (Mars-1)>Lecture-10 Notes

Here is a computer simulation showing how a team at Caltech (M. Marinova) explain the large difference between the Northern & Southern hemispheres of the planet. In a nutshell, 3-billion years ago a solar system body ~1/2 to 2/3 the mass of our Moon hit Mars with a glancing blow, ripping off the planet's crust over the northern half, and leaving behind a relatively smooth "crust" made of the mantle (the collider itself was destroyed in their computer simulations).>Mars Collision

Here is a link to You-Boob where some amazing movies of Martian ``Dust Devils'' driven by strong winds. Some of these mini-tornadoes are large enough to be seen from orbit. You can see perhaps while climatologists like to have another planet to play with!>Dust Devils on Mars

Here's a movie taken from the surface of Mars showing clouds drifting across the skies of the Red planet. It's my understanding that these clouds are largely frozen CO2, not water as the case on Earth (but I'll check). >Martian Clouds

Lecture-11: Mars, part-II. We will see that Mars in the past had a thick atmosphere and was warm enough for running water to exist on the surface. In other words, Mars was once very Earth-like. What happened? What is the evidence for running water in the past, and where did that water go. Is it still there? Well, if Mars was once Earth-like, maybe life existed there. But in 1976 a bold set of landers sought out simple life-forms in the Martian soil. What did it find? And if mars was once Earth-like, what the hell happened? All this and more.

notes for Lecture 11 (Mars-2)>Lecture-11 Notes

Lecuture-12: This material actually covers two lectures, with the second part coming after Exam #2. Both are on Jupiter, the "king" of the planets. We will see that Jupiter is unlike any of the planets we have studied so far. Jupiter, it turns out, represents a kind of solar system in minature, which is one of the reasons it attracts so much attention from astronomers.

notes for Lecture 12 (Jupiter-1)>Lecture-12 Notes

Here is a time-lapse movie of Jupiter showing some of the complex motions in its upper-atmosphere. Note the zones (light colored) and belts (darker color), the direction reversals, the rotation of the Great Red Spot and the smaller storms (white spots). Quite a lot of stuff going on here.>Jupiter-Movie1

Here's another time-lapse movie showing Jupiter's rapid rotation (can you estimate this movie's duration?) as well as the orbital motions of two of Jupiter's large "Galilean Moons". Note that they cast shaddows on Jupiter's upper cloud-tops (solar eclipses!).>Jupiter-Movie2

Here is a photo from Jupiter's night-side taken by the Galileo mission showing the inner-most bit of its faint ring system scattering sunlight.>Jupiter Ring

Here is another beautiful image from the Galileo mission showing the volcanic moon Io "occulting" Jupiter. Note the shaddow cast by the moon on the cloud-tops (a solar eclipse!).>Jupiter & Io

And another beautiful image. Here the Galileo mission has captured Io (the volcanic moon) and Europa (deep water ocean under ice crust?) in the same frame. Volcanic activity is evident on Io. Why is it that you can see surface features on Io's night-side?>Europa & Io

What a photogenic planet Jupiter is! Here's an image showing details in the Great Red Spot and its environment, including a new kid on the block - "Red Spot Jr.", which was formed by the merger of 3-4 smaller "white spots" (two of which are visible) that abruptly turned red over a 1-month period.>Red & Red Jr.

Here is a movie of Jupiter's inner-ring made by Voyager in the late-1970's showing the presence of two small moons within. This ring is hard to see (unlike Saturn's ring) because (a) it is made of very small dust-mote sized bits of rock that is (b) not coated with ice (i.e., not very reflective). There's also less material in this ring than Saturn's.>Jupiter Ring movie

Lecuture-13: We finish up on the planet Jupiter in this lecture as we examine the four Galilean moons, each of which is unique and interesting as a world in its own right. Then we will say good-bye to Jupiter with a quick glance at its ring. Yeehaww.

notes for Lecture 13 (Jupiter-2)>Lecture-13 Notes

Lecuture-14: We turn our attention to the ringed planet, Saturn. In this lecture we will discuss the atmosphere or "weather" of Saturn as well as its internal structure (to the best or our knowledge anyway) before spending half of the lecture on the spectaular rings of this planet. We will look closely at images and movies sent back to Earth by fly-by and orbiting missions from 1980 to 2009.

notes for Lecture 14 (Saturn-1)>Lecture-14 Notes

Lecture-15: We continue with Saturn by talking about Jupiter, here how both planets have acted as "sponges" in their ability to gobble up comets that might pose danger to Earth. Jupiter smashed & ate a comet just over a decade ago in spectacular fashion. We'll also meet some interesting Saturnian moons, reminescent of Jupiter's Galilean moons.

notes for Lecture 15 (Saturn-2)>Lecture-15 Notes

Lecture-16: We discuss the two furthest planets in our Solar System, the "twins" Uranus & Neptune. We will see that they are much closer to being twin-planets than Earth & Venus ever were. These are the last of the Jupiter-like planets and we will naturally find many similarities with Jupiter and Saturn. However, there are some interesting differences too, some that have yet to be explained.

notes for Lecture 16 (Uranus & Neptune)>Lecture-16 Notes

Lecture-17: Pluto, Dwarf Planets, and Asteroids will be discussed in this lecture. What is Pluto like (it's very different from the Jupiter-like planets and very different from the Earth-like planets). And why the heck isn't it considered a planet any longer? What's beyond Pluto's orbit, anyway? We'l also start our investigation of what I call "Space Junk" with asteroids.

notes for Lecture 17 (Pluto, Dwarf Planets & Asteroids)>Lecture-17 Notes

Lecture-18: Comets and asteroids redux, but with a difference. We are going to discuss comets, the ``dirty snowballs'' we first met when we were discussing the Roche Limit of Jupiter and Saturn (remember Shoemaker-Levy 9?). We will also consider what happens when this stuff I've been calling ``Space Junk'' occasionally plummets to the Earth's surface. It isn't pretty.

notes for Lecture 18 (More Space Junk)>Lecture-18 Notes

Lecture-19: The Sun (part-1). Forget planets, asteroids, and comets. The real "star" the Solar System is the Sun - as it turns out - a very average star. In this lecture we will see how very simple observations place big constraints on conditions in the Sun's center, and how these led to the eventual working out of the processes by which the Sun shines. We will also briefly look at the Sun's formation and eventual death in about 5-billion years in the future.

notes for Lecture 19 (The Sun-1)>Lecture-19 Notes

Lecture-20: The Sun (part-2). In this lecture we look in detail at the internal structure of the sun, examine how energy is transported from the core to the "surface", and see various aspects of the "active" sun.

notes for Lecture 20 (The Sun-2)>Lecture-20 Notes

Lecture-21: The formation of the Solar System. We've looked at the planets, asteroids, comets, and the Sun. It seems hoplessly complicated, with some planets rocky, others just big balls of gas and liquid. Actually, there are many patterns and symmetries in the Solar System that taken together give big clues as to how it all formed. We will look at several theories of the formation of our Solar System which will set the stage for the question of *other* solar systems around other stars.

notes for Lecture 21 (The Genesis of the Solar System)>Lecture-21 Notes

Lecture-22: The Search for Extra-Solar Planets. The previous lecture argued that planets form as a consequence of star formation. This implies that planetary systems should be extremely common (recall there are ~200-billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy alone). How do you go about finding planets around other stars? Have we actually seen planets around other stars? What are the limiations of the various techniques? Finally, how does our own Solar System compare with the newly discovered ones? Do we have to scrap the theory in Lecture-21?

notes for Lecture 22 (Extra-Solar Planets)>Lecture-22 Notes

Study Guides will be posted here before each exam:

Study Guide for Exam-1 is here:>Guide-1

Study Guide for Exam-2 is here:>Guide-2

Study Guide for Exam-3 is here:>Guide-3

Practice Exams will be posted here before each exam:

Practice Exam-1 is here:>Practice-Exam #1

Goodluck and I hope you enjoy this class

Prof. James Higdon