Course Web Page:

http://pages.uoregon.edu/jimbrau/astr122

Course Outline

lectures

Exam Schedule

exams

Grading

Mid-term exams (two best of three, each count 25% of grade)
(you only have to take two of three)
Course Project (10%)
Final Exam (counts 30% of grade)
Frequent in-class short quizzes (10% of grade)
• We will use CLICKERS for these quizzes
• Purchase a CLICKER at the Duck Store this week
• Register your CLICKER ID on Blackboard for this course
  • here
• Quizzes start Thursday

Course Project
Written report on a topic of choice.
Select a project based on your interests and imagination.
Examples:
• report on a topic of interest
• report of an observational exercise
• design of an astronomical instrument
Printed report of 1000-1300 words (about 4-6 pages).
References must be reported.
Submit through SafeAssign on Blackboard

Projects are due, without exception, no later than March 6th.

Some suggested projects will be listed on the web page

• science of an astrophysical object
• history related to astronomy
• key figure(s) in astronomy
• the role of space exploration
• other topic of your interest
but you are not constrained by these examples.


Do a project on a topic of interest to you,
but be careful that it is original work, and cites sources.

Requirements
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 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://pages.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

• Wesley Erickson
• Blake Parris

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
• Hubble Space Telescope

Astrology

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

Basics