Introduction to Modern Astrophysics

This course discusses topics of current interest in astronomy, including the formation of the planets and the solar system, properties and evolution of stars, peculiar stars such as black holes and neutron stars, characteristics of the Milky Way Galaxy, active and normal galaxies, distance determinations to galaxies, cosmological principles, the size and age of the Universe, and the large telescope and satellite observatories. A basic high school algebra and trigonometry background is recommended to fully appreciate the subject. No prerequisites. Every year. (4 credits)

Fall 2003 semester

Observatory Open Nights and Tutoring

The Observatory will be open on CLEAR Wednesday and Thursday nights from 9-11pm. Make sure you sign in to receive credit for visiting the Observatory! Also, one of the Open Night coodinators, Charles Baldner cbaldner@macalester.edu, will be available for tutoring. He won't be at every Open Night, so if you want to make sure you see him, either send him email or arrange to go on a night when it is announced in class that he will be there (this will usually happen the week before the quizzes).

Part I: Solar System
from Universe, Edition 6, by Kaufmann and Freedman.
Click here to convert these for Edition 5

• Chapter 1: 6-8, 11-12, 14, 16
  
• Chapter 2: 2, 4-7, 9-15, 21-22
  
• Chapter 3: 1-6, 9, 13, 15, 17
  
• Chapter 4: 1-2, 5-7, 9, 12-13, 15, 17-18, 20-21, 23
  
• Chapter 7: 1-3, 5, 7, 9-10, 12, 14-16
  
• Chapter 9: 7, 12, 14, 17-18, 31
  
• Chapter 13: 4, 11, 17
  
• Chapter 14: 2, 6, 15, 21, 26
  
• Chapter 15: 3, 5, 8, 11
  
• Chapter 17: 3, 16-18, 20-21, 23
  

• Chapter 5: 3-5, 7-9, 12-14, 16-19, 38, 41
  
• Chapter 6: 1, 5-13, 18
  
• Chapter 18: 1-2, 5, 7-8, 10, 13-23, 41
  
• Chapter 19: 1-10, 12-13, 16-18, 20
  
• Chapter 20: 1-3, 5-6, 8-12, 14, 17-21, 23-24, 28-29
  
• Chapter 21: 1, 3-8, 10-12, 14, 25
  
• Chapter 22: 1-2, 4-5, 7-8, 10-13, 15, 18-19
  
• Chapter 23: 1-8, 13, 18, 20
  
• Chapter 24: 1, 5-6, 8-9, 11, 17-18
  

• Chapter 25: 1-2, 4-5, 7-10, 12-21, 27, 37
  
• Chapter 26: 2-18, 31, 32, 33,
  
• Chapter 28: 2-3, 5-6, 8-20
  
• Chapter 29: 1-3
  

Some helpful webtools for visualization:

Part I: Solar System

• Examine Retrograde Motion
• Visualize Kepler's Laws
• Animations to help show Mars retrograde motion, phases of the Moon, comet tail orientation, and more

Part II: Light and Stars

• Doppler detection method for finding extra-solar planets
• Hubble Space Telescope Animations
• Eclipsing binary stars and their light curves
• Take a trip (MPEG movie) to a black hole
• Watch a supernova light curve in Centaurus A (a distant galaxy)

Part III: Galaxies & Cosmology

• MPEG movies of
  colliding galaxies - part 1
  colliding galaxies - part 2
  colliding with a dark matter galaxy
  a few other cool movies
• Learn more about the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
• And also about this new stuff, ripples and dark energy