Course Web Page:

http://physics.uoregon.edu/~jimbrau/astr122

Course Outline

lectures

Exam Schedule

exams

Grading

Mid-term exams (two best of three, each count 30% of grade)
(you only have to take two of three)
Course Project (10%)
Final Exam (counts 30% of grade)
In class unannounced quizzes (extra credit)
Quizzes can increase your grade by about two percent

Course Project
Select a project based on your interests and imagination.
Examples:
• written report on a topic of interest
• report of an observational exercise
• poster on a topic
• the design of an astronomical instrument
Printed report of 4-6 pages, unless other content (eg. poster, or model) is submitted,

in which case a shorter report (2 pages) may be submitted, but in all cases, a report is required.
References must be reported.


Projects are due, without exception, no later than March 10.
Some suggested projects are listed on the web page

but you are not constrained by these examples.

Do a project on a topic you are interested in.


Successful completion of the final exam and the course project are required to pass the course.

Class attendance is mandatory as the exams will contain material from the lectures as well as the textbook.

Exam, Quiz and Project scores will be posted on the web page with a Astronomy course ID number assigned to each student.


To get your number, go to this web page


http://physics.uoregon.edu/~jimbrau/astr122/number.html


and follow instructions



If you wish to have a different number used, email Professor Brau with the number.

Professor

Who is Jim Brau?

Teaching Assistants

• Ellery Ames
• Shikhadeep Gill
• Sean Jacobson

Inclement Weather

The university is very unlikely to cancel classes due to inclement weather.

Although highly unlikely, extremely dangerous weather conditions could force the university to close.

If this class is cancelled, a notice will be posted on the top of the class web page.

Astronomy 122, Birth and Death of Stars

the second course in a three course sequence:


Astronomy 121, The Solar System
Astronomy 122, Birth and Death of Stars
Astronomy 123, Galaxies and the Expanding Universe

You can take these courses in any order.

The Sky

The full night sky reveals a concentration of stars (the "Milky Way")

Early astronomers had very practical reasons for studying the sky.
Some constellations served as navigational guides.

For example, the star Polaris, part of the Little Dipper, indicates north, and the near-constancy of its location in the sky, from hour to hour and night to night, has aided travelers for centuries.

The Sun

• The Sun's Regions
• Sunspots
  • Sunspot enlargement
• Solar Prominence

Constellations

• summer and winter arrangements
• The Orion constellation
• Orion and the Orion Nebula (site of star birth), and Trapezium in the Orion Nebula

Measuring Stars

• Parallax (determining stellar distances)
• Nearby Stars
• Stellar Sizes

Star Clusters

• A galactic (open) cluster (the Pleiades)
• A globular cluster (Omega Centauri)

Stellar Evolution

• Model of a Star
  • Inward and outward forces in Star are balanced (Hydrostatic Equilibrium)
• Stellar aging
• Ring Nebula (example of a "planetary nebula")
• Supernova (SN1987A)
• Crab Nebula (supernova remnant)
• Neutron star
  • one thimbleful = 100 million tons
• Black hole

Radiation

• The electromagnetic spectrum

Spectroscopy

• The spectroscope

Telescopes

• Reflecting and refracting telescopes
• Keck telescopes
• Radio telescopes
• Very Large Array

Astrology

Today most people recognize that Astrology is nothing but an amusing diversion
• But we still follow our horoscopes for amusement

Basics