ASTRONOMY 104

The Milky Way Galaxy and the Universe Beyond

Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:55-11:10 in Thompson Physical Lab 203

Prof. Jay Pasachoff

Texts: The Cosmos: Astronomy in the New Millennium, 4th edition (2014), by

Jay M. Pasachoff and Alex Filippenko (Cambridge University Press),

See http://thecosmos4.com (misconceptions/podcasts/critical-thinking/updates), glow.williams.edu

Instructor: Professor Jay M. Pasachoff, TPL 115, x2105

jay.m.pasachoff@williams.edu; office hours by appointment

Observatory Supervisor and Senior Lecturer: Dr. Steven P. Souza, TPL 117, x3210, ssouza@williams.edu; Office hours: Wed. 10-11 AM, and by appointment

Visiting Professor: Prof. Marek Demianski, marek.demianski@williams.edu

Teaching Assistants: Observatory Control Room, 4th floor TPL, x2165 during observing hours.

Observing Program: Students will observe with the Hopkins Observatory's 24-inch telescope, and with other telescopes and equipment. Details and requirements will be described in a separate handout, given at observing orientation sessions held in the Observatory Control Room on February 9 & 10.

Organization: Most lectures will start with current events in astronomy, often linked with topics in the course; students are responsible for this material on exams, another reason that attendance is necessary.

Daytime Labs: There are five scheduled afternoon lab exercises during the semester; note that these labs are not weekly. You have been assigned by the Registrar to one of four lab sections: Tuesday or Wednesday, 1:00-2:30 PM or 2:30-4:00 PM. All labs are in TPL301. Details will be given in class.

Lab I Distances in Astronomy T,W 2/17, 18 TPL301

Lab II The Virtual Sky T,W 2/24, 25 TPL301

Lab III Hubble's Law and the Expansion of the Universe T,W 3/17, 18 TPL301

Lab IV Galaxies, Active Galaxies and Quasars T,W 4/14, 15 TPL301

Lab V Exploring Dark Matter T,W 5/5, 5/6 TPL301

Exams and Grading: First hour exam: Tues, March 17; Second hour exam: Tues, April 28;

Final exam: to be scheduled; each exam will be cumulative, including all previous material covered:

readings, new topics at the beginnings of class, labs, class topics, book and film contents

Passing the course requires taking all exams, completing all lab sessions, attending almost all lectures, and completing all observing requirements. Makeup exams will be scheduled for those who arrange beforehand to be excused and for those with medical excuses from the Infirmary. The judgment of being "intellectually present" needed for a Gaudino grade of G would be determined in large part by mastery of fundamental concepts and facts as demonstrated on the exams and not by mere completion of the required activities.

Final grades will be calculated according to the following:

25% first hour exam; 25% second hour exam; 50% final exam,

with the quality of work on labs and observing modifying the grade obtained from the average of the exams. This modification gives lab and observing performance a higher importance than mere averaging would. Attendance at labs and observing is required; the labs/observing should also be fun!

Course attendance at each lecture is also required, except for medical or other special excuses. Those who often miss many classes for whatever reasons should not take this course.

Critical Thinking: Certain aspects of the course meet "critical thinking" desiderata (a list of which is linked to the http://thecosmos4 Web page.). Examples include identifying and using Cepheid variable stars to find distances, and concluding that certain objects are black holes.

Honor Code: Students are strongly reminded of the honor system as described in the Student Handbook. No collaboration is allowed on exams. All observing work handed in must be exclusively your own. In labs, students will work in small groups, but each student must turn in his or her own lab write-up. If there is any question as to how the honor code applies, please consult the instructor(s).