Astronomy 121: The Formation and Evolution of the Solar System

Administrative:

Syllabus
Frequently Asked Questions about AST121
Schombert's Schedule
Academic Calendar
Math Anxiety
What to Study?
Why Big Lecture Classes?
Academic Learning Services

Internet Resources:

The Nine Planets
Meteor Showers
Views of the Solar System

Science Calculator (HELP)

Periodic Table
Temperature Scale

21st Century Science
Astronomy/Physics Glossary
Solar System Symbols
What's in the Sky this Month?
Planetary Fact Sheets

Unit Converter

Greek Alphabet
Exponents and Logarithms

AST122: Birth and Death of Stars
AST123: Galaxies and Cosmology

Lectures:

Week 1:
  1. Introduction
  2. History
  3. Celestial Sphere
Week 2:
  1. Orbits
  2. Gravity
  3. Light
Week 3:
  1. Matter
  2. Solar System Review
Jan 25: Exam #1
Week 4:
  1. Earth
  2. Moon/Mercury
  3. Venus
Week 5:
  1. Mars
  2. Galilean Satellites
  3. Terrestrial Planet Atmospheres
Week 6:
  1. Terrestrial Planet Geology
  2. Terrestrial Planet Interiors
  3. Moons
Feb 20: Exam #2
Week 8:
  1. Asteroids/Comets
  2. Jupiter
  3. Saturn
Week 9:
  1. Outer SS
  2. Interior Sun
  3. Exterior Sun
Week 10:
  1. Origin of the Solar System
  2. Primordial Life
Mar 15: Exam #3

Quiz Deadlines:

Quiz #01/Lecture #01 - Jan 14
Quiz #02/Lecture #02 - Jan 14
Quiz #03/Lecture #03 - Jan 14
Quiz #04/Lecture #04 - Jan 21
Quiz #05/Lecture #05 - Jan 21
Quiz #06/Lecture #06 - Jan 21
Quiz #07/Lecture #07 - Jan 24
Quiz #08/Lecture #08 - Jan 24
Quiz #09/Lecture #09 - Feb 04
Quiz #10/Lecture #10 - Feb 04
Quiz #11/Lecture #11 - Feb 04
Quiz #12/Lecture #12 - Feb 11
Quiz #13/Lecture #13 - Feb 11
Quiz #14/Lecture #14 - Feb 11
Quiz #15/Lecture #15 - Feb 18
Quiz #16/Lecture #16 - Feb 18
Quiz #17/Lecture #17 - Feb 18
Quiz #18/Lecture #18 - Mar 04
Quiz #19/Lecture #19 - Mar 04
Quiz #20/Lecture #20 - Mar 04
Quiz #21/Lecture #21 - Mar 11
Quiz #22/Lecture #22 - Mar 11
Quiz #23/Lecture #23 - Mar 11
Quiz #24/Lecture #24 - Mar 14
Quiz #25/Lecture #25 - Mar 14

Quiz Instructions
All work must be completed by midnight

Exam and Quiz Scores:

lunar phases
 

The graphic in the background of these pages is from a chart in Johannes Kepler's 1606 celestial atlas entitled De Stella Nova.

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