Classes	MWF 3:00-3:50, 1415 BPS.
Instructor	Mr. Ed Loh, 3260 BPS, 884-5612, Loh@msu.edu
Office hours	MWF 12:00-1:00, 3260 BPS.
Grader	Nicholas Earl, earlnich@msu.edu; Jacob Gordon, gordon70@msu.edu
Textbook	Cosmic Perspective, 5^th ed., Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit, 2009. (Older editions are OK.)
Web	angel.msu.edu

	Calendar				Topic & Reading
		2		Sep	Overview. Learning science. Example with 51 Pegasi.
1543—The Copernican Revolution
			4		Finish 51 Peg. Erathosthenes' measurement of the diameter of the earth. p. 68.
		9			Hipparchus measures the distance to the moon.
			11		Daily and annual motions of the sky. §2, §S-1 (p.92). Celestial sphere.
	14			H01	Ptolemy’s model. Tycho Brahe maps the sky
		16			Kepler studies Mars' motion. §3 Measuring the relative size of Mars’ orbit.
			18		Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion.
1838—Size of the Solar System & Distances to the Nearest Stars
	21			H02	Galileo invents the telescope. (Sidereus Nuncius, pp. 64–67.)
		23			Newton’s laws of motion & gravity §3
			25		How big is the solar system? Parallax of Mars and Venus. pp. 225, 521–523.
	28			H03 A03	Preparation for test. Practice test Practice test answer
		30			Test.
			2	Oct	How far are the nearest stars? Bessell, Henderson, & Struve.
	5				Model of the universe of 1850. Hertzsprung Russell Diagram. §15.2
		7			Simple model of stars. §15
			9		Adam’s discovery of a white dwarf.
	12			H04	Lifetime of stars §16, §17
		14	16		Nuclear fusion powers the stars. §14.2
	19			H05 A05	Death of stars. §17, §18
		21			Midterm exam. Practice test Practice test answer
1929—Expansion of the Universe
			23		Measuring velocities: Doppler effect. §5.5. Mizar
	26				Hubble's paper of 1929: discovery of the expansion of the universe. §20.3
		28			Models of the Big Bang. The universe has beginning and possibly an end.
1965—Radiation from the Big Bang
			30		Discovery of the cosmic background radiation. §23.2
	2			Nov	The hot Big Bang. §23
		4	6		The universe at 3 minutes: the formation of helium. pp. 716–719.
Unsolved problem: What is the universe made of?
	9				Weighing the earth by timing fall of a ball. Weighing galaxies.
		11	13		Dark matter in galaxies. §22
	16				Black holes and quasars. §18.3, §21.3
		18			Recombination of hydrogen; matter and radiation become independent.
			20		First stars, quasars, & galaxies. Galaxy clustering.
	23				Third test. Practice test Test answers
		25			The SOAR telescope.
	30	2	4	Dec	Weighing the universe by timing the expansion of the universe with supernovae.
	7				Discovery of matter with a repulsive force. §22.4
		9			Einstein’s theory of gravity. §S3, pp. 448-460
			11		Review.
	14				Final exam, Mon., Dec. 14^th, 3:00-5:00. Practice test. Answers

Ast207, the Science of Astronomy, is based on the premise that learning a science is done better by an in-depth study of a few topics rather than a brief brush with many.

This term, Ast207 will focus on cosmology, the study of the structure and content of the universe on the largest scales. We will examine and interpret the evidence for the key discoveries in cosmology. Four epochal discoveries will be our focus for the first part: the Copernican revolution, the measurement of the distances to the nearest stars, Hubble's discovery of the expansion of the universe, and the discovery of the radiation from the Big Bang. For the remainder of the course we will examine topics of current interest in cosmology.

Doing science is a social and cooperative venture. Find a 207 pal with whom you can work on Ast207. If you get stuck, your 207 pal may help. If you think you understand a concept, explain it to your 207 pal to see if he/she thinks your explanation is sensible and clear. Difficult concepts become clear with discussion.

You may work together on your homework assignments, but you must hand in your own solutions. Late homework may be handed in up until the time the graded papers are returned.

The course grade will be based on in-class exercises (9%), homework (25%), first test (5%), midterm (15%), third test (15%) and final exam (31%). Your lowest homework score and your three lowest exercise scores will be dropped.

The in-class exercises use i-clickers. Register your clicker at iclicker.com. If the identification number has been rubbed off, you may register it in class, which does not require your reading the number.

We will have an evening observing session on Wednesday and Thursday, 21 & 22 October. It will be rescheduled if the weather is bad on those dates. The Physics-Astronomy Department and Abrams Planetarium also offer public observing at the MSU Observatory (at College Rd. & Farm Lane) from 9:00–11:00 on Sept. 25 & 26, and Oct. 23 & 24. (See http://www.pa.msu.edu/astro/observ/public.html)

For other skywatcher’s information, see the web site for Abrams’ Planetarium www.pa.msu.edu/abrams.