ASTRONOMY 103

Solar System

Fall Quarter 2003

Instructor: Ronald Taam

Office: Dearborn Observatory #10

Phone: 491-7528

Email: r-taam@northwestern.edu

Office Hours: Monday 3:00 - 5:00 PM or by appointment

Office: Dearborn Observatory #5; Phone: 491-8643; Email: d-lin@northwestern.edu
: Office Hours: Tuesday 2:00 - 4:00 PM

Textbook: Voyages to the Planets (3rd edition) (Fraknoi, Morrison and Wolff)

Lectures: MWF at 2:00-2:50 PM in Tech LR-2

Course Description

Solar System is an introductory course in which an overview of modern astronomy related to the Solar System and the search for life elsewhere will be presented. The appearance of the sky around us, objects in the Solar System such as the planets, comets, asteroids, and the search for life will be discussed. The emphasis of the course will be on providing an understanding of the general principles, and on the concept of astronomy as a physical science.

Grading Policy

The course grade will be based on two, 50 minute examinations (50%), quizzes (20%) and a final exam (30%). The two 50 minute examinations will administered during a lecture time slot and consist of essay questions. Quizzes will also be administered during lecture section and will consist of a multiple choice/fill in questions. There will be five quizzes and the quiz with the lowest grade will be dropped. The final exam will consist of multiple choice/fill in and essay questions. In case of missed quizzes or exams, make-ups will consist of an oral test, which should be taken within two weeks of the date for which the quiz or exam was missed. Extra credit will be given to those students attending the telescopic evening sessions. A sign up sheet for the viewing on Wednesdays will be distributed at the beginning of each week. Since the weather conditions dictate whether the telescopic viewing will be possible, a website (http://www.astro.northwestern.edu/~lin/Dearborn/Dearborn.html) has been set up to provide you with the latest forecast for observations that evening. Please check about an hour before telescopic viewing is to be held.

Course Outline

WEEK	DATE	TOPIC	ASSIGNMENTS
Week 1	September 24 - 26	Introduction to the Solar System and Observing the Sky	Prologue & Chapters 1 and 6
Week 2	September 29 - October 3	Kepler's Laws & Orbits	Chapter 2
Week 3	October 6 - 10	Seasons, Eclipses, & Time	Chapter 3 Quiz on Wednesday, Oct. 8
Week 4	October 13 - 17	Other Worlds, the Earth and Moon	Chapters 6, 7, and 8 Quiz on Wednesday, Oct. 15
Week 5	October 20 - 24	Inner Solar System - Mercury, Venus, and Mars	Chapters 8 and 9 Exam on Wednesday, Oct. 22
Week 6	October 27 - 31	Outer Solar System - Giant Planets, Rings, Moons, & Pluto	Chapters 10 and 11 Quiz on Wednesday, Oct. 29
Week 7	November 3 - 7	Asteroids, Comets, Meteors, and Near-Earth Asteroids and Impacts	Chapters 7 and 12 Quiz on Wednesday, Nov. 5
Week 8	November 10 - 14	Formation of Solar System, Birth of Planets	Chapter 13 Quiz on Wednesday, Nov. 12
Week 9	November 17 - 21	The Sun as a Star	Chapter 14 Exam on Wednesday, Nov. 19
Week 10	November 24 - 26	Astrobiology: Search for Extra Solar Planets and Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence	Chapter 15