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Morehead State University College of Science Department of Earth and Space Science Astronomy 130 Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology _________________________________________________________________________________________ Spring 2017 Dr. Dirk Grupe Section 001 Assistant Professor of Astrophysics and Space Science Office Location: Space Science Center Room 212-J Office Phone: 606-783-9597 Space Science Center Phone: 606-783-2381 E-mail: [email protected] Course Purpose:. This is the continuation of the study started in ASTR 125 of astronomical phenomena, instrumentation and methods used in astronomy, the physical laws that govern the universe, and basic mathematical and computational methods that illustrate how these investigations may be carried out. This course focuses on stellar and galactic structure, evolution and interaction: the sun as a star, solar astrophysics, stars and stellar evolution, stellar endpoints, structure, evolution, and interaction of galaxies, and cosmology (structure and evolution of the universe). This course includes night sky observation sessions. An emphasis is placed on describing "how we know what we know" about each of these objects as a way to illustrate how scientists work and how modern science is conducted. Class Meeting Times: Tu/Th, 12:30-13:45 Class Location: Space Science Center Room 117 (Selected lectures will be given in the Star Theater) Office Hours: MWF, 13:00 – 15:00; Also by appointment. Text: Unsöld & Bascheck: The New Cosmos, Springer Student Learner Outcomes The following student competencies are central to this General Education course: To effectively utilize deductive or inductive reasoning (Student Learner Outcome 2b). To apply scientific or technological concepts to solving problems of natural systems (Student Learner Outcome 5b). Analyze explanations to classify them as scientific or nonscientific (Student Learner Outcome 5c). Tentative Schedule Lecture: Readings: Date: Lecture Topic: 01 Prologue Tue, Jan. 17 Units, Units, Units! 02 Chapter 2 Thu, Jan. 19 Astronomical Times and Coordinates 03 Chapter 2 Tue, Jan. 24 Newton’s Mechanics 04 Chapter 2 Thu, Jan. 26 Orbits and Orbital mechanics 05 Chapter 4 Tue, Jan. 31 Light, Electromagnetic Radiation 06 Chapter 4 Thu, Feb. 02 Emission and Absorption: Radiation Transfer

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Page 1: College(of(Science(( …...opportunity to view bright stars, constellations, deep-sky objects (such as nebulae and galaxies) and (if visible) planets both with the unaided eye and

Morehead  State  University  College  of  Science    

Department  of  Earth  and  Space  Science    

Astronomy  130  

Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology _________________________________________________________________________________________

Spring 2017 Dr. Dirk Grupe Section 001 Assistant Professor of Astrophysics and Space Science Office Location: Space Science Center Room 212-J Office Phone: 606-783-9597 Space Science Center Phone: 606-783-2381 E-mail: [email protected]

Course Purpose:. This is the continuation of the study started in ASTR 125 of astronomical phenomena, instrumentation and methods used in astronomy, the physical laws that govern the universe, and basic mathematical and computational methods that illustrate how these investigations may be carried out. This course focuses on stellar and galactic structure, evolution and interaction: the sun as a star, solar astrophysics, stars and stellar evolution, stellar endpoints, structure, evolution, and interaction of galaxies, and cosmology (structure and evolution of the universe). This course includes night sky observation sessions. An emphasis is placed on describing "how we know what we know" about each of these objects as a way to illustrate how scientists work and how modern science is conducted. Class Meeting Times: Tu/Th, 12:30-13:45 Class Location: Space Science Center Room 117 (Selected lectures will be given in the Star Theater) Office Hours: MWF, 13:00 – 15:00; Also by appointment.

Text: Unsöld & Bascheck: The New Cosmos, Springer

Student Learner Outcomes

The following student competencies are central to this General Education course:

• To effectively utilize deductive or inductive reasoning (Student Learner Outcome 2b). • To apply scientific or technological concepts to solving problems of natural systems (Student Learner Outcome 5b). • Analyze explanations to classify them as scientific or nonscientific (Student Learner Outcome 5c).

Tentative Schedule

Lecture: Readings: Date: Lecture Topic: 01 Prologue Tue, Jan. 17 Units, Units, Units! 02 Chapter 2 Thu, Jan. 19 Astronomical Times and Coordinates

03 Chapter 2 Tue, Jan. 24 Newton’s Mechanics 04 Chapter 2 Thu, Jan. 26 Orbits and Orbital mechanics

05 Chapter 4 Tue, Jan. 31 Light, Electromagnetic Radiation 06 Chapter 4 Thu, Feb. 02 Emission and Absorption: Radiation Transfer

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Tentative Schedule (Continued)

Lecture: Readings: Date: Lecture Topic: 07 Chapter 4, 7 Tue, Feb. 07 Line emission and absorption

Thu, Feb. 09 Exam #1 – Lectures 1-7

08 Chapter 3 Tue, Feb. 14 Optical Telescopes

09 Chapter 3 Thu, Feb. 16 Optical Instrumentation

10 Chapter 3 Tue, Feb. 21 Radio Telescopes and Detectors 11 Chapter 3 Thu, Feb. 23 High Energy Instrumentation 12 Chapter 6, 7 Tue, Feb. 28 Physical Properties of the Sun

13 Chapter 6,7 Thu, Mar. 02 Physical Properties of Stars Tue, Mar. 07 Exam #2 (Mid-term) – Lectures 08-13 14 Chapter 8 Thu, Mar. 09 Star-formation and Stellar Clusters 15 Chapter 8 Tue, Mar. 14 Structure and Evolution of Stars 16 Chapter 8 Thu, Mar. 16 Nucleosynthesis Mar 20 – 25 Spring Break

17 Chapter 8 Tue, Mar. 28 Exotic Stars 18 Chapter 11 Thu, Mar. 30 Structure and Dynamics of the Milky Way 19 Chapter 12 Tue, Apr. 04 Galaxies and Galaxy Clusters Thu, Apr. 06 Exam #3 – Lectures 14-19 20 Chapter 4 Tue, Apr. 11 Special Theory of Relativity

21 Chapter 8 Thu, Apr. 13 General Theory of Relativity 22 Chapter 8 Tue, Apr. 18 Black Hole Physics 23 Chapter 12 Thu, Apr. 20 Active Galactic Nuclei I

24 Chapter 12 Tue, Apr. 25 Active Galactic Nuclei II

25 Chapter 13 Thu, Apr. 27 Cosmology I: Big Bang Theory

26 Chapter 13 Tue, May. 02 Cosmology II: 3K Microwave Background 27 Chapter 13 Thu, May. 04 Cosmology III: Evolution of the Universe ***2017 May 09 – 12:45 – 14:45 -- Final Exam (Cumulative) ***

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Grade Assessment:

Observation Activity = 15% Homework Assignments = 20% i>Clicker activities (questions in classroom) = 15%

3 x 1 Hour Exams (100 points each) = 33% Final Exam (100 points -- Cumulative) = 17% Total Points Σ = 100% (Also see discussion of i>clicker Questions below)

Grading Scale: The following grading scale will be implemented for the course (all final grades will be rounded to the nearest integer): 90%-100% = A, 80%-89% = B, 70%-79% =C, 60%-69% = D and < 60% = E. You will have the opportunity to earn extra credit points by attending extra observing activities. These points will be added to

your final grade: final grade = ((weighed total x 10) + extra points)/10

Very important: A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine!!!

If you need a good GPA for whatever reason, then please work for this class during the whole semester. Do not start worrying about your grade just before finals! I will give you plenty of opportunities to obtain points (by e.g. attending additional observing nights). If you do not work for this class then please be not surprised when you do not get the grade that you want or fail this class. I will be

available for questions and help throughout the whole semester.

Observation Activity: Outdoor observing sessions are a crucial highlight of an introductory astronomy course. The instructor will announce the date and of the sessions as well as their starting times (which will depend on the time of year). Four sessions will be held: attendance is required for at least ONE session but students are encouraged to attend multiple sessions spaced out across the semester to observe different objects (which are visible at different times of the year). The purpose of an observing session is to give you an opportunity to view bright stars, constellations, deep-sky objects (such as nebulae and galaxies) and (if visible) planets both with the unaided eye and with the Space Science Center’s collection of optical telescopes. If the weather on the night of a scheduled observing night is not conducive for observations, then an alternative indoor observing activity in the Star Theater will be implemented. Attending one observing night is mandatory! For this semester the preliminary plan for observing nights is: February 02, March 01, April 03, and May 02 Students will need to complete two tasks as part of the observation activity: - A “sky assessment” where students will be required to write a one page report about what they saw and identify stars and constellations (50% of total grade for activity).

- An observing log where students will need to record their observations of 10 DIFFERENT objects as viewed through the telescopes (50% of total grade for activity). A pdf of the observing log can be found in the Course Document folder on Blackboard.

A typical observing night includes the following activities:

1) We will always meet first in the planetarium 2) The instructor will provide a tour of the sky (highlighting the locations of prominent stars, planets, and constellations) to the

student group using a highly visible and directional green laser. Students are strongly encouraged to download and review a sky map (see below) before the observing session takes place. Students are also strongly encouraged to take notes during this instructional session: for example, marking relevant portions of the sky map (like particular stars and constellations).

3) The optical telescopes are set up and calibrated. Students observe about 10 different objects through the telescope and record their observations in their observing logs.

4) An assessment is administered at the end of the evening, where the instructor will select stars and constellations in the sky (which were pointed out during the initial tour) and the students will be required to identify each selected object. These assessments are submitted to the instructor for grading at the end of the semester.

5) Observing reports/logs are due no later than to weeks after the observing night (except the last one which is due at the time

of the final). Please complete your observing report soon after the observing night!

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Sky Maps: We will use monthly sky maps that can be downloaded for free via the Internet. You are required to download one star map for each month of the class and bring them to the observing nights. Use the star maps to familiarize yourself with the sky prior to each observing night. The URL that will be the source for the monthly sky maps that we will use is http://www.skymaps.com.

i>Clicker Activities:

Be sure to review each lecture after it is posted to Blackboard. To encourage reviewing each lecture, at the start of the following lecture, I will be asking questions based on the previous lecture. I will also include questions during the lecture to check on if you paid attention or not. If the student correctly answers the question, the student will receive one additional point. For these questions I will be using i>Clicker. I will use i>clicker to keep track of attendance (please see the attendance policy of the syllabus). Participation with i>clicker will account for (15% of your final grade). At MSU we use the i>Clicker 2 model (available at the bookstore). However, because we only use the i>clicker for multiple choice questions, the old i>clicker 1 will work as well. Also you can get the i>clicker Go app for your smart phone. If you will use an i>clicker only in my class this might be the cheaper option. i>clicker points missed due to a missed lecture can not be made up at a later time. How to register: You must register your clicker within Blackboard. Do not register your clicker on iclicker.com: if you do, I will not be able to match your responses with your name and you will not receive credit. (This only applies for the i>clicker remotes not the i>clickerGo app.) Cheating: I consider bringing a fellow student’s i>clicker to class to be cheating and a violation of the University Honor Code. If you are caught with a remote other than your own or have votes in a class that you did not attend, you will forfeit all clicker points and may face additional disciplinary action.

Homework Assignments, Hour Exams and Final Exam: Homework assignments will be administered during the course of the semester. These questions are intended to help reinforce the content that has been discussed during lecture: completion of these questions will also help students prepare for quarterly exams as well. Three one-hour exams will be administered during the course of the semester. These exams will be comprised of a mixture of multiple choice questions and questions that may be answered with descriptive sentences or with a diagram. A fourth exam will be given during Finals Week: it will have the same structure as the other three exams and it will be comprehensive and will be twice as long. The first three exams will contribute 11% each to the grade while the final will count 17%. All exams are open exams, meaning the use of the textbook during the exam is allowed. Although I do allow laptops to look up lectures, I do not allow using search engines during the exams. This includes search functions in pdfs. If I catch you using search engines etc. during the exam this will result in an immediate “F” and has further consequences (see academic policies below).

Attendance Policy: Attendance will be taken for every class through the iclicker. However, attendance in the class in not required. You will not be penalized for missing classes, except you will not be able to receive the points for the i>clicker questions!!! You are strongly encouraged to attend lectures so that you can receive the latest announcements about the class. Also, high attendance by a student will be viewed favorably when final grades are computed. If you anticipate missing an exam, you MUST contact the instructor (by e-mail) BEFORE the scheduled start of the quiz or exam to schedule a make-up, which will only be administered with approval by the instructor. Quizzes, Hour Exams or the Final Exam will not be made up under ANY circumstances due to unexcused absences. Observations are an essential component of the course. Attendance is therefore mandatory and no missed observing nights will be excused.

Policies on Electronic Devices in the Classroom: All electronic communication devices (cell phones, etc.) must be turned off prior to the start of each lecture. Students are not allowed to listen to music, browse the Internet, play games, send text messages and either receive or make calls or text messages during lectures. Such behavior during lecture is disrespectful to both the instructor and your fellow students and makes it more difficult to establish a constructive learning environment within the classroom. If a student does use an electronic device in an inappropriate way, the device will be confiscated by the instructor and returned to the student after class. The inappropriate use of any electronic device during an exam or quiz is completely prohibited: if a student is caught using an electronic device inappropriately (e.g., conducting an Internet search to answer a question), the student will automatically receive a failing grade and may be subject to further disciplinary action (see Academic Policy Section below). The use of laptops to take notes during class, however, is allowed.

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Services for Students with Physical and Learning Disabilities: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all qualified students enrolled in this course are entitled to reasonable accommodations. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the instructor of any special needs before the end of the second week of classes. Professional staff is available, if needed. For more information, please call (606) 783-2005.

Academic Policy: Cheating,  fabrication,  plagiarism  or  helping  others  to  commit  these  acts  will  not  be  tolerated.  Academic  dishonesty  will  result  in  severe  disciplinary  action  including,  but  not  limited  to,  failure  of  the  student  assessment  item  or  course,  and/or  dismissal  from  MSU.    If  you  are  not  sure  what  constitutes  academic  dishonesty,  read  The  Eagle:  Student  Handbook  or  ask  your  instructor.    The  policy  is  located  at  http://www.morehead-­‐st.edu./units/studentlife/handbook/academicdishonesty.html.  For  example:  Copying  information  from  the  Internet  is  plagiarism  if  appropriate  credit  is  not  given.    

 

Emergency Response Protocol: Emergency response information will be discussed in class. Students should familiarize themselves with the nearest exit routes in the event evacuation becomes necessary. You should notify your instructor at the beginning of the semester if you have special needs or if you will require assistance during an emergency evacuation. Students should familiarize themselves with emergency response protocols at www.moreheadstate.edu/emergency.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): In compliance with the ADA, all students with a documented disability are entitled to reasonable accommodations and services to support their academic success and safety. Though a request for services may be made at any time, services are best applied when they are requested at or before the start of the semester. To receive accommodations and services, the student should immediately contact the Disability Services Coordinator at: 204-E ADUC, 606-783-5188 or [email protected].

Campus Safety Statement: Emergency response information will be discussed in class. Students should familiarize themselves with the nearest exit routes in the event evacuation becomes necessary. You should notify your instructor at the beginning of the semester if you have special needs or will require assistance during an emergency evacuation. Students should familiarize themselves with emergency response protocols at http://www.moreheadstate.edu/emergency.

Department of Earth and Space Sciences Course Contingency Plan In the event that Morehead State University is closed for an extended period or in the event that the instructor is unable to meet during scheduled hours for an extended period, the following course contingency plan will be implemented. Through Blackboard, students will have access to all assignments and course materials. Students will continue working on assignments, continue readings and engage in discussions on Blackboard as scheduled. Assignments will be due as scheduled. An alternate instructor will facilitate the Blackboard activities in the event that the instructor is unable to facilitate due to illness. Students who are unable to complete the work because of illness must arrange a schedule with the instructor for completion of assignments. If a student is ill, they will communicate that to the instructor and if work cannot be made up by the time grades are due, the student and instructor will make arrangements for an “I.”

What Does A Student Need to Do to Be Successful in This Class? • Attend all lectures and take careful notes. While all course materials will be posted at Blackboard, there will be

important lecture activities (like inquiry questions and demonstrations) to illustrate key concepts and it is important to witness these activities first hand.

• Class participation is crucial: you are strongly encouraged to ask questions during the course of a lecture about the course material. Like attendance, participation will be reviewed favorably when final grades are computed.

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• Pay special attention to completing your work related to the observing session. The grade for your observation session (the combination of the assessment and observing log) will carry the same weight as a single exam, so you will want to put significant effort into completing this work correctly.

• Study sheets will be provided in advance of each exam. Be sure to review these sheets carefully – the content of these sheets will closely correspond to the material covered by the exam!

• When in doubt about anything – course material, observing assessment, etc. – PLEASE ASK!!! As difficulties arise, I am willing to answer any questions either before or after class, during my office hours, via e-mail, etc. – please contact me as soon as possible. It is best to speak to me as soon as you encounter difficulty with the material.

• For your homework and the exams get a scientific calculator and familiarize yourself with it.

Useful Astronomy-Related Apps for iPhone and Droid In recent years there has been a surge in the number of astronomy-related apps available for download and installation for both the iPhone and Droid platforms. You are strongly encouraged to seek out such apps to help augment the content of the course and the night observing sessions. Examples of such apps include “Star Walk” and “Sky Guide” but clearly other related apps are available as well. We will work to include these apps in the night sky observing sessions: the particulars of their usage will be discussed in class.

Morehead State University Space Science Center The Morehead State University Space Science Center has been established to provide a research and educational facility with state-of-the-art laboratories for undergraduate students in space science and astrophysics. Space science is an interdisciplinary and technology-intensive discipline that encompasses physics, astrophysics, satellite telecommunications, electrical engineering, mathematics and computer sciences. The Space Science Center originated from a joint NASA-Morehead State-Kentucky National Science Foundation EPSCoR venture to develop a large aperture (21-Meter) radio telescope and satellite tracking station as well as associated laboratories and degree programs at Morehead State University. Degree programs that are offered include a B.S. and Master in Space Science and a B.S. in Physics (Area of Concentration in Astrophysics). For more information, visit the Space Science Center’s web site at http://ssc.moreheadstate.edu.