ASTR1110H
- INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY
The Solar System
Fall 2009
E-Mail: loris@physast.uga.edu
Web Page:
www.physast.uga.edu/~loris/astr1110h/prob.html
Class Hours:
Tuesday and Thursday 9:30
AM – 10:45 PM in Physics 221
Office Hours: Tuesday
and Thursday 11:00 AM – noon & 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (or by
appointment)
Textbooks:
The Copernican Revolution (CR) – Thomas S. Kuhn
The Trial of
Galileo (TG) – Frederick Purnell, Jr., Michael S. Pettersen, Mark C.
Carnes
Destiny or
Chance (DC) – Stuart Ross Taylor
Tentative Class Schedule & Readings & Homework Assignments:
August 18 – Introduction
August 20 – Film, The
Planets, Vol. 1 – Different Worlds; DC – p. 1-49
August 25 – The Celestial Sphere; CR – Ch. 1
August 27 – Timekeeping; CR – Ch. 2; Homework 1 due
September 1 – Ancient Greek Astronomy; CR – Ch. 3
September 3 – The Middle Ages and Copernicus; CR – Ch.
4
September 8 – Kepler and His Laws I; CR – CR - Ch. 5
September 10 – Kepler and His Laws II; CR – p. 185
– 219; Homework 2 due
September 15 – Introduction to the Game (TG 1); TG – p. 3-48; Essay 1 due
September 17 – Discussion of GalileoÕs Early Works I (TG 2)
September 22 – Discussion of GalileoÕs Early Works II (TG 3)
September 24 – College of Rome Lectures (TG 4)
September 29 – Holy Office Debates (TG 5)
October 1 – Prince CesiÕs Party (TG 6)
October 6 – Holy Office Debates I (TG 7)
October 8 – Election and Installation of New Pope (TG 8); Essay 2 due
October 13 – Holy Office Debates II (TG 9)
October 15 – Holy Office Debates III (TG 10)
October 20 – Post mortems (TG 11); CR – p. 219-252
October 22 – Newton and Astronomy in the 18th and
19th Centuries; CR – p.252-278; Essay 3 due
October 27 – Einstein and Relativity
October 29 – EXAM
November 3 – Some Physics
November 5 – The Formation of the Solar System; DC –
p.49-64
November 10 – The Terrestrial Planets – Interiors; DC
– p. 118-145
November 12 – The Terrestrial Planets – Surfaces and
Pictures; DC – p. 147-167
November 17 – The Terrestrial Planets – Atmospheres;
DC – p. 169-204; Homework 3 due
November 19 – Debris I – The Asteroid Belt; DC –
p. 111-118
November 23 & 25 – Thanksgiving Break
December 1 – The Jovian Planets; DC – p. 65-89
December 3 – Debris II – The Kuiper Belt; DC –
p. 91 – 118, p. 205-215; Homework
4 due
December 15 – FINAL
EXAM