Astro 001 Section 4

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Astro 001 - Section 4 Prof. Fox
Please find a seat in front (below the
separating aisle)
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Course Materials

• Required
• Interwrite Personal Response System (PRS)
• Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy, by
  Prather, Slater, Adams Brissenden
• Edmund Scientific Sky Planet Locator
  (planisphere)
• Recommended and very useful
• Astronomy A Beginner's Guide to the Universe by
  Chaisson McMillan, Fifth Ed. (includes web
  access)
• Discounted bundles available at the bookstore

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The Astronomical Universe

• Whats up there, and why?
• Earths place in the Solar System Galaxy
  Universe
• Conceptual focus
• Scientific mode of thinking and problem-solving

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Course Grading

• Participation
• In class (PRS)
• Online (Angel)
• 11 Homeworks (Angel)
• Two Projects
• Spectroscopy
• Telescopes
• Four Exams
• Three in-class
• Final

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Keys to Success

• Prepare for class
• Print out lecture notes and/or slides
• Use these to take notes
• Attend class
• Lectures are the basis for exams
• Participation counts
• Lots of review as we go, and preparing for
  Exams
• Ask questions
• During class
• Office hours email
• Prepare for Exams
• Practice questions (book, web)
• Participate in the Angel Discussion Forum

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Course Projects

• Evenings, Mon-Thu
• Spectroscopy
• Open for one week, Feb 4-12
• Classroom activity Exploration of downtown
• Telescopes
• Open to all from Jan 22 to Feb 14
• Afterwards Open according to last names
• Complete by the end of the period defined by your
  last name

Rooftop observing
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Astronomy Diagnostic Test

• Take this week via Angel
• 40 minutes, timed
• Taking the test is part of your grade
  (Participation)
• Score does not matter but you must attempt all
  questions
• Due by Thursdays Lecture
• Next to get next question
• Submit only at the very end

This is not a hint!
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Discussion Forums

• Set up on Angel
• NYT Science Times
• Discuss astronomy news and features from the New
  York Times (each Tuesday)
• Also discussed in-class each Tuesday
• Exam Review
• Ask and answer questions about exam material to
  prepare for tests
• Points for participation

NYT Science Times
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STRUCTURE OF COURSE
Visual and Historical Astronomy
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HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY
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STRUCTURE OF COURSE
Visual and Historical Astronomy
Gravity
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GRAVITY
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STRUCTURE OF COURSE
Gravity
Light
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LIGHT
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STRUCTURE OF COURSE
Solar System
Gravity
Light
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THE SOLAR SYSTEM
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STRUCTURE OF COURSE
Stars
Solar System
Gravity
Light
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STARS
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STRUCTURE OF COURSE
Milky Way
Stars
Solar System
Gravity
Light
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THE MILKY WAY
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STRUCTURE OF COURSE
Milky Way
Galaxies
Stars
Solar System
Gravity
Light
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GALAXIES
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STRUCTURE OF COURSE
Universe
Galaxies
Stars
Solar System
Gravity
Light
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THE UNIVERSE
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Life
Universe
Galaxies
Stars
Solar System
Gravity
Light
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LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
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Space is big. Really big. The Hitchhikers
Guide to the Galaxy
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The Cosmic Calendar
See also Southwest stairwell in Davey Lab
(begin on Floor 5)
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Cosmic Countdown

• The Cosmic Year encloses the history of the
  Universe in a single year
• 13.7 billion 1 compression
• Divides into 31 million Cosmic Seconds
• One Cosmic Second corresponds to 442 years
• Counting backwards, then

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0s 2008 C.E.
2008 Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
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1s 1565 C.E.
Spanish conquest of the Incan Empire, 1541 CE
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2s 1123 C.E.
Norman conquest of 1066 CE  Bayeaux Tapestry
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3s 681 C.E.
Birth Rise of Islam  632 (red) to 661 (pink)
to 750 CE (yellow)
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4s 239 C.E.
Three Kingdoms City in Wuxi, China, 222-263 CE
Palace of Diocletian, Roman Emperor from 284305
CE
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5s 203 B.C.E.
Hannibal crossing the Alps in 202 BCE, by Henri
Paul Motte
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6s 645 B.C.E.
King Assurbanipal of Assyria founded the worlds
first library at Nineveh, ca. 650 BCE
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7s 1087 B.C.E.
Kings Saul and David (1006965 BCE) rule over the
Israelites
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8s 1529 B.C.E.
Shang Dynasty (ca. 16001046 BCE) artifacts from
China
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9s 1971 B.C.E.
Pharaohs Amenemhet I (19911962 BCE pyramid and
tomb) and Senusret I (19711976 BCE bust) of the
12th Dynasty
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10s 2413 B.C.E.
The Great Pyramid, completed ca. 2560 BCE during
the 4th Dynasty
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15s 4623 B.C.E.

• First systems of writing and proto-writing
• First states and cities
• Dawn of civilization

The Tartaria tablets, ca. 5500 BCE
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Next year 13.7b years ago

• Big Bang!
• (We end at the beginning)
• (Formation of the Earth in about 4 months)

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Large Numbers

• Any number that you can add 1 billion to without
  noticing.
• Age of Universe 13.7 billion years, or 1017
  seconds
• Neurons in human brain 100 billion
• Synapses in human brain 150 trillion
• Protons in the Visible Universe 1054
• Proton volumes in the Visible Universe 1089

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Large Numbers

• Recall
• 1054 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,
• 000,000,000,000,000,000,
• 000,000,000,000,000,000
• and so forth

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Large Numbers

• Recall
• 1054 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,
• 000,000,000,000,000,000,
• 000,000,001,000,000,000
• and so forth

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More Large Numbers

• Lifetime of M-dwarf star on the main sequence
  1012 years
• Death of the Milky Ways last stars 1014 years
• Proton decay timescale More than 1035 years
  (Super-K)
• Doubling times during the epoch of Cosmic
  Inflation 1012 (Linde)

Planet orbiting an M-dwarf star
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Space is big. Really big. The Hitchhikers
Guide to the Galaxy