Astronomy 201 Cosmology

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Astronomy 201Cosmology
Dr. Matthias Steinmetz Steward Observatory Univers
ity of Arizona Room 312 msteinmetz_at_as.arizona.edu
[phone]
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Lecture 1 What this class is about

• The rules of the game
• Lectures and Lecturers, Office Hours, Notes
• Homework, Quizzes, and Projects
• Midterms, Finals, Academic Integrity
• Grading
• What this class is about
• The topics
• The schedule

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Lectures and Lecturers

• Class meets MWF 2pm-250pm in N210
• Lecture notes available online
• Professor Dr. Matthias Steinmetz
• Steward Observatory Room 312
• Office hours Mon 3-4, Tue, Fri 11-12
• Teaching Assistant Mr. Patrick Young
• Steward Observatory Room D317 (in the Dome)
• Office hours Wed, Thu 3-4

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Homeworks and Project

• 12 homework sets will be distributed
• no credit for late home works, no exceptions
• lowest 2 scores will be dropped
• some sets have a math/no math option
• Semester project
• several topics to choose from
• you may choose your own topic, but clear it with
  me first
• 3 steps abstract, draft, final project

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Midterms and Finals

• 3 midterm examinations
• 50 min in N210
• lowest score will be dropped
• not cumulative, cover only material since the
  last midterm
• closed book, but one and only one cheat-sheet is
  allowed
• Final examination
• 2 hours in N210
• covers everything we did
• closed book, but one and only one cheat-sheet is
  allowed
• No make-up exams, no exceptions
• Cheating strict adherence to University policies

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Quizzes, Discussion Sessions, Attendance

• 10-15 random quizzes, also used as attendance
  check
• discussion session in class, also used as
  attendance check
• random attendance checks
• grade penalties if more than 3 lectures are
  missed
• administrative drop if too many lectures/home
  works are missed

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Need Help ?

• ask questions in class and/or after class
• ask questions by email (I try to answer every
  email within 24h, but for simple things the
  response may be much faster)
• see me or Patrick during our office hours
• our astronomy undergraduates offer tutoring

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In the Lecture Hall ...

• We are about 150 people !!!!
• Please dont drink and eat, dont read newspapers
• Please switch off your cell-phone before you come
  in
• Please dont talk with your neighbor
• Be in time. If youre late, please be as quite as
  possible
• Dont start packing your stuff when the lecture
  is still going on

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Grading

• Midterms (225) Final (40) Homeworks (40)
  Project (40) Quizzes (30) 200
• NOTE examinations only add up to 45 of the
  grade !!!
• gt 180 A
• 150-180 B
• 120-150 C
• 90-120 D
• lt 90 E

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The History of Cosmology

• Mythology vs the scientific method
• Cosmos Earth ? solar system ? Milky Way ?
  Hubble sphere

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Newton Cosmology as a Science

• Newtons laws
• Newtons gravity The heavens and the Earth
  follow the same principle
• Galileo Relativity before Einstein

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Einsteins Theory of Special Relativity

• Principle of Relativity
• Giving up absolute space and time
• Space and time where common sense makes no sense
• what is here and there or now and then ?

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Einsteins Theory of General Relativity

• Is mass and mass the same thing ?
• Principle of equivalence
• Curved Spaces
• The entire Universe in one line
• Testing the theory
• Black Holes

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The Big-Bang Model

• Expanding Universes
• Why Big Bang ?
• Einsteins biggest blunder
• Making the Universe comprehensible
• The cosmic microwave background, a snapshot of
  the young universe
• The signature of God

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Structure Formation in the Universe

• Where do galaxies come from ?
• How to weigh the universe ?
• Evidence for dark matter, but what is it ?
• What the macro cosmos tells us about the micro
  cosmos

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The Early Universe

• Origin of chemical elements
• Particle Physics joins Astrophysics
• The search for the dark matter

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Before the Beginning ...

• Puzzling facts about the universe
• Inflation
• Weird physics strings, wrapped extra dimensions