Astronomy

The past 20 years has seen an explosion in our understanding of the contents, formation and evolution of the Universe. Changes in our fundamental physics, combined with discoveries from space and ground-based telescopes, have led to a radically different model of our place in the Universe and its origins. The goal of this course is to provide a broad scientific view of astronomy. While a basic understanding of physics, chemistry and algebra is assumed, the class will teach fundamental science through lectures, problem sets and lab assignments using the above astronomy themes.

This course requires a basic understanding of mathematics. Please read the requirements for this course and if you feel you do not have the appropriate skills, please do *not* take this class.

Course Organization:

All lectures in this course will be delivered electronically. The lecture pages will be on the Web in HTML (hypertext mark-up language) format so that they are accessible from any computer, either at home or on campus. The address for this course is abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/hc209.

We are using the computer network in this class for several reasons:

• This is the future; network literacy is the key to being employed.
• Since the course material is always available, there is less of a need to scramble to take notes during class. You can focus on paying attention.
• There is lots of material out there on the Internet which is relevant for this class.

Even though the web notes reduce the dependence on a textbook, they do not replace your need to attend class. A great deal of material is discussed in lecture that is not in the web notes and will appear on the exams. And difficult concepts in the web lectures, and math problems, will be clarified in class. So please attend.

Grading:

Grading will consist of the following:

• Two essay exams worth 2/3 of your grade (held in class)
• Lab assignments about once a week worth 1/3 of your grade

Textbook:

The textbook for the class is Fix's Astronomy (at the bookstore). The reading schedule is:

Accommodations:

If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please see me as soon as possible. And please request that the Counselor for Students with Disabilities (H. Gerdes, hgerdes@oregon) send a letter verifying your disability.