Astronomy 1010Fall_2015

Day-1Planetary Astronomy

Astronomy 1010Planetary Astronomy

MWF 1325 – 1420 Sundquist Science Center

E106B Dr. Allyn Smith www.apsu.edu/astronomy

Instructor:Dr. Allyn Smith

Office: SSC B – 329Hours: MWF 1000 – 1100;

T 1300-1400 Email: smithj@apsu.eduPhone: 221-6104

or by appointment(go in through B-332)

•21st Century Astronomy: The Solar System, 4th Edition by Kay, Palen, Smith & Blumenthal•Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy, 3rd Edition by, Prather, Slater, Adams & Brissenden

Textbooks

Course Announcements• Smartworks Practice: Due Fri. (Aug. 28)• Smartworks Chapter 1: Due Wed. (Sep. 2)

• Read Chapter 1 (if you haven’t already)• Read Chapter 2.1, 2.2

• Still time to register for ASTR-2010 – Problems in Planetary Astronomy

• 1600-1700 Wednesdays, E-118

• Introduction to Observational Astronomy• 1830-2130 Wednesdays, B-310

Course Announcements - 2• Clarksville Astronomy Club meeting

• Tuesday Aug. 25 – 7:30pm – Sears Planetarium

• Mt. Vesuvius eruption in 79 A.D.

• Sun.-Mon. Sept. 27-28 – total lunar eclipse:• Pending weather, we will be at the observatory

for this. All are welcome to join us. Begins: Sun, Sep 27, 2015 at 7:11 PM Maximum: Sun, Sep 27, 2015 at 9:47 PM Ends: Mon, Sep 28, 2015 at 12:22 AM Duration: 5 hours, 11 minutes

Home Work - 1• Between now and class time on

FRIDAY. Turn in Friday at class time:• Go outside, at night, and look at the

sky. Try to avoid street lights. Sketch what you see.

• Bright stars, the moon (show phase), and some “local” landmarks.

• 1-3 hours later, repeat.• What changed?

Definitions & Terms -1• Syllabus: Plan for the class, loosely,

your contract.• Cell Phone: Demon spawn of the

devil. Use in class is prohibited. Failure to heed this may cost you up to 1.5 letter grades.

• Hat: A covering of the head to protect the hair. Worn by women indoors or out. Men wear them outdoors only.

• Coffee: the drink of life, especially in the mornings.

Definitions & Terms -2• Planet: A body which:

• Orbits the star in the stellar system,• Has enough mass to self-gravitate to a

spherical shape;• Has cleared its orbit of similar-sized debris.

• “Solar System”: The group of planets and our star which they orbit.

• Galaxy: An assemblage of stars, planets, dust, gas … In the case of our galaxy “The Milky Way” we’re talking about 400,000,000,000 stars.

Five-Minute Essay My name is… (LEGIBLY!!)

I am taking ASTR 1010 because… In ASTR 1010 I hope to learn about …

When I graduate I hope to…

Three important things that happened this summer were …

Lab This WeekAstronomy on the Internet

In General:ClassAction Web Site (Link from

apsu.edu/astronomy)Print the instructions BEFORE you

come to class!

If you are interested in math…

ASTR 2010: Problems in Planetary Astronomy meets Wednesdays at 1600 (E118). It is a one-hour class that only meets once a week. We will do some of the problems from the back of the chapters that involve math as well as supplemental problems. The math level is basic algebra. If you are interested, see Dr. Buckner to sign up for the class. It may be planetary but much of the material is also applicable for stellar. ASTR 2020 Problems in Stellar is a spring class.

And, If you are interested in (more) observing…

ASTR-2011: Introduction to Observational Astronomy meets Wednesdays at 1830 (B310). It is a one-hour class that only meets once a week. It is an introduction top observing and use of telescopes. It is intended to be “under the stars” as much as the weather allows. This will “release” you from the observing report for this class.