ASTR 201

ASTR 201 -- The Sun and Its Planets

Spring 2017

Time and Location: TR 10:00 -- 11:15, Sears 354

Instructor: Professor Chris Mihos

Office: Sears 557

Office Hours: Tue/Thu 1-2

E-mail: mihos@case.edu

Teaching Assistant: Jay Franck

Office: Sears 572
Office Hours: Mon/Wed 2-3
Email: jrf110@case.edu

Website: http://burro.case.edu/Academics/Astr201/ -- check the website frequently for updates, including new assignments and schedule changes.

Textbook: The Cosmic Perspective: The Solar System by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit. IMPORTANT: the official textbook is the 8th edition. If you are using an older version, please note that sometimes the homework questions change between editions. For even earlier editions, the chapters may be structured differently as well. If you are using an older, used textbook, be sure to do the correct homework questions when they are assigned!

Planetarium Software: The planetarium software I will use from time to time in class is Stellarium. It is freeware, so if you want to try it for yourself, you can download it from the Stellarium website and install it on your own computer.

Learning Outcomes: After completing the course, students should be able to:

Describe the basic astronomical scales of time and space.
Relate how the motion of the Earth, Moon, and planets give rise to our changing view of the night sky.
Describe the Copernican revolution and the development of the heliocentric view of the solar system.
Explain the basic physical laws that govern the motion of the planets.
Describe the interaction of light and matter.
Describe the general properties of the solar system.
Summarize the formation history of the solar system.
Explain the interconnected evolution of the interiors, atmospheres, and surfaces of the terrestrial planets.
Describe the physical structure of the outer planets and their rings and moons.
Explain basic methods for detecting extrasolar planets
Compare and contrast extrasolar planetary systems with our solar system.
Describe the Sun's physical structure and energy production.
Identify common constellations and bright stars in the night sky.
Express general scientific concepts in clear and logical written form.

Grading Scheme:

Graded work

Grading scale

Homework	40%	Six homework assignments
Midterm 1	15%	Mar 2 (in class)
Midterm 2	15%	Apr 6 (in class)
Final Exam	30%	May 9 (8:00-11:00am)

A	90-100
B	80-89
C	70-79
D	55-69
F	<55

Grading Policies:

HW is due by 11:15am the day it is due. Turn it in at the end of class, or leave it outside my office door (Sears 557).

Late HW received by the end of the following class period will be accepted for a 10 point deduction.

Really late HW received within a week after it is due will be accepted for a 20 point deduction.

Way too late HW received after that will not be accepted.

HW must be printed out and turned in by hand. Do not email me your HW; emailed submissions will not be accepted.

The work you turn in should be your own work, written in your own words.

"A" means "excellent." The right answer, poorly written or sloppily presented, earns a B at best. And so on down the line....

There will be no extra credit assignments given. Do a good job on the work that is assigned!
There will be no make-up exams unless you are ill and have documentation through University Health Services and Undergraduate Studies.

Anonymized Grade Sheet

Tentative Schedule:

Week	Dates	Topic	Chapters	Due	Something Fun
1	Jan 17	A Modern View of the Universe	1
	Jan 19	Discovering the Universe I	2
2	Jan 24	Discovering the Universe II	2
	Jan 26	Discovering the Universe III The Science of Astronomy I	2 3		Sweeping Shadow Eclipse Closeup US Eclipses Eclipse Path 2017 Closeup Path
3	Jan 31	Night Sky Interlude I: Winter The Science of Astronomy II	3		Space Station Flyover
	Feb 2	The Science of Astronomy III Motion, Energy, and Gravity I	3 4		Heavens Above app (ISS tracking, Iridium flares)
4	Feb 7	Motion, Energy, and Gravity II	4	HW 1
	Feb 9	Motion, Energy, and Gravity III Light & Matter I	4 5		Penumbral lunar eclipse Eclipse timing
5	Feb 14	Light & Matter II	5
	Feb 16	Telescopes Our Planetary System I	6 7		Zoomable Earth at Night
6	Feb 21	Our Planetary System II The Formation of the Solar System I	7 8	HW 2
	Feb 23	Night Sky Interlude II: Spring The Formation of the Solar System II	8		TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets
7	Feb 28	The Formation of the Solar System III Midterm #1 Review Planetary Geology I	9
	Mar 2	Midterm Test #1	Chap 1-6, Winter/Spring Skies
8	Mar 7	Planetary Geology II	9	HW 3	Frontiers of Astronomy @CMNH (free!)
	Mar 9	Planetary Geology III	9
9	Mar 14	Spring Break -- No class
	Mar 16	Spring Break -- No class
10	Mar 21	Planetary Atmospheres I	10
	Mar 23	Planetary Atmospheres II	10
11	Mar 28	Class cancelled		HW 4
	Mar 30	Jovian Worlds I Night Sky Interlude III: Summer	11		Flying above Mars Midterm #1 Rewrite due (no late rewrites accepted)
12	Apr 4	Jovian Worlds II Midterm #2 Review	11		MAVEN results on Mars' atmosphere
	Apr 6	Midterm Test #2	Chap 7-10, Summer Skies
13	Apr 11	Asteroids and Comets I	12		Cassini's Grand Finale
	Apr 13	Asteroids and Comets II Extrasolar Planets I	12 13		Frontiers of Astronony @CMNH (free!)
14	Apr 18	Extrasolar Planets II	13	HW 5
	Apr 20	The Sun I	14		Asteroid flyby
15	Apr 25	Night Sky Interlude IV: Fall The Sun II The End of the Sun	14		Midterm #2 Rewrite due (no late rewrites accepted)
	Apr 27	Final Exam review			Meteor Showers from Space
--	May 2			HW 6 (due by noon; no late HW accepted)
--	May 9	Final Exam, 8:00-11:00am	All chapters All skies

Homework Assignments:

Homework assignments are questions from the 8th edition
Homework is due by 11:15am the day it is due!

HW	Due date	Assignment (Questions in red are 10pts each, all others are 5pts each)
1	Feb 7	Chapter 1: 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 42, 46 Chapter 2: 6, 8, 9, 14, 42 Also: You see the moon rising at 3am. What phase is it in? Draw a sketch to explain your answer.
2	Feb 21	Chapter 3: 9 Chapter 4: 4, 13, 52, 57 (note: the last two problems are 51, 56 in the 7th edition of the textbook) Chapter 5: 15, 44, 54 Also: (10 points) Why wasn't the Copernican model of the solar system immediately accepted when it was first proposed? Describe the roles of Tycho, Kepler, and Galileo in the eventual triumph of the Copernican model. (10 points) a) About what time does a waxing crescent moon rise? b) About what time does a third quarter moon cross the meridian (where it is highest in the sky)? c) About what time does a waning gibbous moon set? In each case include a sketch of the Earth-Moon-Sun system to help explain your answer. (10 points) You are on the Earth and looking at a set of stars, shown in this picture, and measuring the properties of an emission line of hydrogen that has a rest wavelength of 486.136 nanometers (nm). For Stars A, D, and E, you are given the stars' speed and direction of motion (shown by the arrows). Calculate the observed Doppler shifted wavelength of the line for each star. For Stars B and C, you are given the observed Doppler shifted wavelength of the line in each star. Work out the stars' speeds and explain whether they are moving towards us or away from us. In Star F, you observe that its spectral line is both Doppler shifted and Doppler broadened. How fast is the star moving (towards or away?) and how fast is it rotating?
3	Mar 7	Chapter 6: 5, 9 Chapter 7: 3, 10, 39, 40 Chapter 8: 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 40
4	Mar 28	Chapter 9: 2, 3, 7, 44, 45 Chapter 10: 4, 7, 18, 19, 21, 49, 55
5	Apr 18	Chapter 11: 3, 7, 10, 11, 15, 45 Chapter 12: 7, 12, 38, 43, 45
6	May 2	Due by noon, turned in to my office (Sears 557); HW #6 will not be accepted late! Chap 13: 7, 10, 43, 44, 52 (Note: if you are using the old 7th edition, the Chap 13 problems are 8, 11, 44, 45, 53.) Chap 14: 7, 10, 13, 18, 50 Also: Explain why many (but not all!) astronomers think Pluto shouldn't be considered a true planet. Also describe your own thoughts -- do you think Pluto should be restored to "true planet status"? Why or why not? (10 points)